INDEX / DIRECTORY / ASICS / POLITICAL

ASICS POLITICAL

POLITICAL AUDIT UPDATED 2026-10-07
Political Score 3.31 /10 D ASICS - Complicity Index 292
Political 3.31

Evidence-only forensic audit. Scoring happens downstream - see the main dossier for the composite assessment.

Forensic audits like this are reader-funded - no sponsors, no ads. Support OpenIntel →

Research date: 7 October 2026 Target scope: ASICS Corporation (Japan) and controlled group entities. Current ASICS records identify Yasuhito Hirota as Chairman and CEO and Mitsuyuki Tominaga as President and COO, with ASICS listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market.1 Onitsuka Tiger is currently an ASICS group business; ASICS announced that it is scheduled to move to wholly owned OT GROUP Corporation on 1 January 2027.2 ASICS Trading is separately identified within current ASICS executive responsibility.3

The current ASICS group-location page lists Middle East subsidiaries in Dubai and Riyadh and does not list an Israeli subsidiary.4 In Israel, Original’s states that it is the official ASICS importer and describes a retail network that includes three ASICS branches; this audit therefore treats I.A. IL / Original’s as an external importer/retailer rather than an ASICS-controlled subsidiary.5, 6 ASICS nevertheless has direct Israel-facing services: its Israel-specific legal notice says ASICS Japan Corporation processes Israeli users’ personal data and is the database owner under Israeli privacy law, while Global-e independently manages some online-purchase logistics and related data.7

Corporate Communications & Public Stance

Statements

No public evidence identified of an official ASICS Corporation statement specifically addressing the Israel-Gaza war, Palestinian civilian harm, Israeli settlements, a ceasefire, or the Israel-Palestine conflict in the corporate materials and targeted searches reviewed for this audit. ASICS does publish a group Human Rights Policy, approved by its board on 10 June 2022, committing the group to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, OECD Guidelines and human-rights due diligence.8 Its current human-rights page says the Human Rights Committee reviewed overseas employee risks, freedom-of-association cases in the supply chain and marketing-related human-rights risks in 2025.9

Comparative public posture

ASICS has made public conflict- or displacement-related decisions in other contexts. In November 2022, the Kyiv School of Economics recorded ASICS’s statement that it had ceased all commercial operations in Russia after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and exited that market.10 In July 2023, ASICS became official sponsor of the World Athletics Athlete Refugee Team; then-CEO Hirota publicly framed the sponsorship as support for refugees through sport.11 ASICS also maintains a page describing a programme with Right To Play for Syrian refugee children and communities in Lebanon.12 These records establish public action on other conflict/displacement contexts; no public evidence identified of a comparable ASICS corporate statement on Palestinian civilian harm or the Israel-Gaza war.

Market framing

ASICS’s current Israel-facing materials frame the market in ordinary consumer, running-community, privacy and logistics terms. ASICS hosts an “ASICS FrontRunner Israel” team page, while Original’s markets ASICS as a sportswear brand and calls itself the official importer.13, 5 No geopolitical partnership language was identified in those current market-facing pages.7, 13, 5

Operations in Occupied or Contested Territories

Territorial presence

The 2025 OHCHR update to the settlement-business database lists 158 enterprises after reviewing 215 companies; exact-name review did not identify ASICS, Onitsuka Tiger, ASICS Trading or I.A. IL among the listed enterprises.14 Focused checks of A/HRC/59/23, AFSC Investigate and Who Profits likewise did not identify an ASICS company profile or named ASICS corporate finding.15, 16, 17 no public evidence identified of an ASICS-controlled store, subsidiary, manufacturing site, equipment/service contract or dealership in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank or occupied Syrian Golan.

Original’s current store list identifies ASICS-branded locations in Haifa and Tel Aviv and an ASICS outlet in Netanya; it also lists separate multi-brand Original’s stores in Jerusalem.18 The reviewed list does not establish an ASICS-branded settlement branch, and a multi-brand retailer location is not attributed to ASICS as a controlled operation.18

No public evidence identified of ASICS being listed in the 2025 OHCHR settlement-business database, subjected to a settlement-related regulatory action, or named in the occupation-company databases reviewed.14, 16, 17 A/HRC/59/23 was reviewed as a relevant 2025 UN corporate-accountability report; no ASICS-specific finding was identified.15

Civil-society and boycott campaign history

The BDS National Committee’s current corporate-priority guide reviewed for this audit does not name ASICS among its listed consumer, organic or pressure targets.19 An informal boycott site, Boykot Market, does label ASICS as boycotted and states that its reason is ASICS’s investment in Israeli startup Seevix Material Sciences; that page’s separate ownership field was not relied on because it misstates the historical founder as the current owner.20 Thus, public boycott advocacy exists around the Seevix investment, but no public evidence identified of ASICS being a current BDS National Committee priority target.19, 20

Internal Governance, Content & Retail Policies

Employee relations

No public evidence identified of ASICS disciplining staff for pro-Palestinian speech, banning Palestinian symbols, litigating against a union over Palestine-related expression, or suppressing an Israel-Palestine shareholder proposal. ASICS’s 2022 Human Rights Policy applies to ASICS Corporation, subsidiaries and affiliates and provides for human-rights due diligence and access to confidential reporting/remedy channels.8 Its 2025 human-rights governance disclosure records freedom-of-association and marketing-risk discussions but does not identify an Israel-Palestine employee-speech case.9

Platform and editorial policy

ASICS operates consumer digital services and apps, but no public evidence identified of algorithmic moderation or conflict-related editorial suppression comparable to a social-media/content platform. For Israeli users, ASICS says ASICS Japan Corporation is the database owner and that some online-purchase logistics, customer support, shipping and returns are handled by Global-e as an independent database owner; it also discloses cross-border transfer of Israeli users’ data.7 no public evidence identified linking that processing to military, intelligence, surveillance or conflict-specific use.

Retail and supply-chain practices

No public evidence identified of ASICS labeling, sourcing or selling settlement-origin goods as such, or of a regulatory action concerning settlement-origin ASICS products. ASICS’s Global Code of Conduct and Human Rights Policy apply across the group and supply/business-partner relationships, while the reviewed Israeli retail evidence concerns ordinary imported footwear/apparel sales.21, 8, 5, 18

Brand Heritage & State Partnerships

Marketing positioning

ASICS Corporation describes its business as manufacture and sale of sporting goods and traces the company to 1949.1 [pre-2020] The founding-era heritage is publicly framed by ASICS as using sport to help children in war-torn Japan, not as military or defense heritage.12 no public evidence identified of ASICS using military service, defense technology or state-security origins as a commercial brand identity.

Institutional ties and sponsorships

14 May 2020 [pre-2020]: ASICS Ventures announced an investment in Jerusalem-based Seevix Material Sciences and said Seevix had emerged from research at the Hebrew University; ASICS framed the relationship as joint development of sporting goods using Seevix’s synthetic-spider-silk material.22 The source is dated 2020; its investment amount and ownership percentage were not disclosed.22

Current Israel Innovation Authority records describe Seevix, not ASICS, as an Israeli company that has won Authority programme routes in 2023, 2024 and 2025.23 This is evidence of state innovation support to the ASICS investee, not evidence that ASICS itself received Israeli state funding. No public evidence identified of ASICS corporate sponsorship of a “Brand Israel” campaign, a non-commercial Israeli government public-relations programme, or an Israeli military/state-security institution.

The ASICS Foundation was established on 1 April 2025 with a sports-access and social-wellbeing mission and is chaired by ASICS executive Tomoko Koda.24 no public evidence identified on the Foundation overview reviewed of Israel/Palestine political grants, settlement funding or military-welfare support.24

Lobbying, Advocacy, Financing & Logistics

Political lobbying and contributions

ASICS reports that there were no political contributions in FY2025.25 Its board-approved anti-bribery policy allows community support and donations within controls but states that donations or support may never be given to political or religious organizations or communities.26 Focused searches did not identify ASICS lobbying, PAC contributions or corporate advocacy directed at Israel policy, anti-BDS legislation, settlements or Palestinian policy. No public evidence identified for those issue-specific lobbying categories.

Financial contributions

No public evidence identified of corporate donations by ASICS to the IDF, Friends of the IDF, JNF/KKL, Israeli reservist funds, settlement organizations, Regavim, Im Tirtzu or a military-welfare body. The distinct financial link found is the 14 May 2020 [pre-2020] ASICS Ventures investment in Seevix Material Sciences, announced for sporting-goods materials R&D.22

The Seevix relationship requires qualification. The Israel Innovation Authority currently describes Seevix’s targeted customer fields as including sports, technical textiles, automotive/tire, aerospace and defense, among other sectors.23 Seevix’s own current governance page lists strategic adviser Yedidia Yaari as a retired Israel Navy commander and former president/CEO of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, and lists former Israeli senior politician Tzipi Livni as another strategic adviser.27 Those are Seevix facts. No public evidence identified that ASICS financed a defense application, supplied Seevix material to the IDF/IMOD, selected those advisers, held a Seevix board seat, or participated in any military programme.22, 23, 27 No primary source located in this research confirmed whether ASICS Ventures still held its 2020 Seevix stake in 2026; continuity is unknown.

Crisis asset mobilization

No public evidence identified of ASICS directing shoes, logistics, free services, digital infrastructure, transport, money or other corporate assets to the Israeli military, Israeli government wartime operations or state-aligned military-welfare organizations after 7 October 2023. The current ASICS Israel records instead show continuing consumer retail, running-community and online-service activity.7, 13, 5, 18

Constructive-notice timing

The current Israel-specific ASICS privacy page, FrontRunner Israel page and Original’s importer/store pages were live in 2026, so ordinary Israeli consumer/community activity continued after 19 July 2024 and after the ICC’s November 2024 warrants.7, 13, 5, 18 The documented Seevix investment predates those dates and its current ownership status is unknown.22 No post-July-2024 escalation into military, settlement or political support was identified.

Corporate Structure & Primary Mission

ASICS is a publicly listed Japanese sporting-goods company; its official profile identifies sporting-goods manufacture and sales as its business.1 As of 30 June 2026, its largest disclosed holder was The Master Trust Bank of Japan trust account at 16.13%, followed by Custody Bank of Japan at 8.57%; the Government of Norway appeared at 2.13%.28 The disclosed shareholder structure does not show a state controlling block or a named founder/family controller.28

Current group leadership places ASICS Trading under an ASICS executive vice president and identifies Junji Kobayashi as president and representative director of ASICS Trading.3 Onitsuka Tiger remains within the ASICS group in 2026; ASICS has announced a 2027 transfer to OT GROUP, which ASICS owns 100%.2 no public evidence identified in the reviewed corporate profile, governance or restructuring records of a foundational mandate to advance Japanese, Israeli or any other state’s geopolitical objectives.1, 2

Executive & Leadership Footprint

Personal philanthropy and financing

The current representative leadership reviewed comprises Chairman/CEO Yasuhito Hirota and President/COO Mitsuyuki Tominaga; current executive disclosures also identify Shinji Senda with ASICS Trading responsibility, Ryoji Shoda as head of Onitsuka Tiger, and Tsuyoshi Nishiwaki with overseas R&D, geopolitical-risk response and crisis-management responsibility.1, 3 no public evidence identified in focused searches of personal donations or family-foundation grants by these ASICS principals to the IDF/FIDF, JNF/KKL, settlement organizations, Israeli reservist funds or other military-welfare bodies.

Public advocacy and statements

No public evidence identified of Hirota, Tominaga, Senda, Shoda or Nishiwaki making a public Israel-Palestine, Gaza, anti-BDS or settlement-endorsement statement in the material located. Hirota did publicly support the World Athletics Athlete Refugee Team in 2023 as a humanitarian sports initiative.11 That statement did not take an Israel-Palestine political position.11

Board memberships and affiliations

No public evidence identified that the reviewed ASICS principals hold leadership roles in AIPAC, CFI, FIDF, JNF/KKL, ADL anti-Palestinian advocacy, Regavim, Im Tirtzu or settlement organizations. Seevix advisers Yedidia Yaari and Tzipi Livni are not listed as ASICS directors or executives; they appear on Seevix’s own adviser page and are not attributed here as ASICS controlling principals.3, 27

Footnotes

  1. https://corp.asics.com/en/about_asics/practical_information ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. https://corp.asics.com/en/press/article/2026-06-10_company-split ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. https://corp.asics.com/en/about_asics/executives ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  4. https://corp.asics.com/en/about_asics/location ↩

  5. https://originals.co.il/pages/asics-landing-page ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  6. https://originals.co.il/pages/%D7%9E%D7%99-%D7%90%D7%A0%D7%97%D7%A0%D7%95 ↩

  7. https://legal.asics.com/en_israel-jp/legal/local-deviations ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  8. https://corp.asics.com/en/p/asics-human-rights-policy ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  9. https://corp.asics.com/en/csr/people-supply-chain/human-rights ↩ ↩2

  10. https://kse.ua/about-the-school/news/30th-issue-of-the-weekly-digest-on-impact-of-foreign-companies-exit-on-rf-economy/ ↩

  11. https://corp.asics.com/en/press/article/2023-07-25 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  12. https://www.asics.com/gb/en-gb/mk/right-to-play ↩ ↩2

  13. https://www.asics.com/ae/en-ae/frontrunner/team/israel ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  14. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/business-database-26sep25/ ↩ ↩2

  15. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/a-hrc-59-23-from-economy-of-occupation-to-economy-of-genocide-report-special-rapporteur-francesca-albanese-palestine-2025/ ↩ ↩2

  16. https://investigate.afsc.org/ ↩ ↩2

  17. https://www.whoprofits.org/ ↩ ↩2

  18. https://originals.co.il/pages/%D7%97%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  19. https://bdsmovement.net/Guide-to-BDS-Boycott ↩ ↩2

  20. https://www.boykotmarket.com/en/brand/asics/ ↩ ↩2

  21. https://corp.asics.com/en/p/code_conduct ↩

  22. https://corp.asics.com/en/ventures/article/2020-05-14-3 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  23. https://innovationisrael.org.il/en/importWinner/515096840/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  24. https://corp.asics.com/en/asicsfoundation/overview ↩ ↩2

  25. https://corp.asics.com/en/about_asics/corporate_governance/compliance ↩

  26. https://corp.asics.com/en/p/global-anti-bribery-and-corruption-act-prevention-policy ↩

  27. https://www.seevix.com/about-us/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  28. https://corp3.asics.com/en/investor_relations/stock_info/shareholder_structure ↩ ↩2