Japan scouring social media 24 hours a day for abuse of Olympic athletes

Six staff members in Milan and a further 16 in Tokyo will scour social media 24 hours a day, using AI tools to help detect malicious material.

Operations began in mid-January and local media said that officials had identified roughly 2,000 potentially inappropriate posts before Friday's opening ceremony.

Reports said the Japan Olympic Committee had requested the removal of 380 social media posts. Kyodo News said "dozens" were deleted.

Japanese figure skater Kao Miura said online abuse was "unacceptable because it hurts and saddens people".

The 20-year-old said he had received a barrage of abusive messages at last month's Four Continents Championships in Beijing, which he went on to win.

"The notifications were annoying," he said.

The head of Japan's delegation at the Milan-Cortina Games, Hidehito Ito, asked people to "support the athletes".

"The athletes have worked incredibly hard to get this far, and thoughtless words can take a big toll on their mental state," he said.