Petition for not increasing fees for obtaining the DAN technical degree in judo.

Dear Mr. President of the International Judo Federation (IJF),

Dear members of the IJF Executive Committee,

for the reasons specified below, we, the undersigned signatories of this petition, call on all relevant IJF authorities to work toward the cancellation of the fees introduced from January 2026 and related to the administration of DAN grading examinations. We strongly disagree with the introduction of these fees.

Reasons for disagreement:

1. Conflict with the history and philosophy of judo, as set out by the founder

Professor Kanō Jigorō introduced the rank of DAN into judo as a form of recognition for years of effort spent advancing and improving in judo, while also aiming to motivate judokas to continue with the sport, strive for technical growth and pass on their experience to future generations. However, it was certainly not intended as something to be commercialised. This naturally does not preclude fees, for example those paid to the examination committee or a fair administrative fee for registering dan ranks in a national federation’s records.

2. Loss of motivation due to reduced affordability.

The minimum age for obtaining first DAN rank has now been set at 15 worldwide. Second DAN rank can be obtained at age 16 and third DAN rank at age 19. Naturally, provided the requirements for each DAN rank are met. This seems more like motivation to obtain higher ranks as soon as possible and thereby increase the financial contribution to the IJF’s coffers than a genuine pursuit of mastery and the ability to pass on that knowledge. A person who can afford it will have an advantage over a person who, due to the current high fees, cannot afford the exams. Or certainly at least not with the frequency needed to not stagnate in their progress in later years. Not to mention the reduced affordability in economically weaker parts of the world.

3. Reducing the powers of national associations.

Until now, the awarding of DAN ranks has been a power held by the individual national federations. The introduction of validation by the IJF, in the form of centralised records with the duty for a national federation to collect US$‎ 150–350 from applicants for a DAN rank, depending on the rank, (in addition to existing fees in individual countries) and to distribute these funds between the IJF, the EJU and the national federation in a 80/35/35 ratio, completely changes a national federation’s position on this matter. In general, the national federations are becoming more like service organisations for the IJF rather than independent, sovereign entities grounded in their own long-term traditions, with an understanding of the local environment and the associated powers when awarding DAN ranks.

4. Lack of added value and a legitimate reason for increasing costs for candidates.

Unifying the requirements for obtaining individual DAN ranks is essentially an acceptable change. It may be worth considering whether the newly established difficulty level is always manageable for all age categories, in particular older judokas. It is difficult for an ordinary member to see any added value, i.e. a reason to pay such a steep increase in the costs of obtaining a DAN rank, simply because the IJF has issued a unifying methodological instruction for conducting exams and introduced central international records. One possible argument from the IJF could be the need to establish a system for its own commissioners, who will now re-test a specific group of commissioners from the national federations; it will be necessary to remunerate them and provide them with reimbursement of expenses related to their activities. We believe, however, that the creation of this entire structure and the fees is unnecessary. National federations could continue to handle this work as they have done until now. And if it is necessary to maintain a global database administered by the IJF, then an administrative fee should correspond to the value of that work, rather than being US$ 150 or even more.