Setting the Record Straight: My Perspective on the Ageo City Half Marathon and My Arrest in Japan
If you search my name online, you’ll likely find several articles published by Brett Larner at Japan Running News relating to two events in my life: the Ageo City Half Marathon in 2023 and my arrest in Japan for bringing prescribed THC medication (for mental health reasons) into the country.
I believe those articles omit important context that materially changes how these events are understood. Rather than continue debating them through social media or podcasts, I wanted to write a single page explaining my perspective as clearly and honestly as possible.
The Ageo City Half Marathon (October 2023)
The reporting surrounding the Ageo City Half Marathon describes me as someone who knowingly competed using another person’s race entry.
That is not what I believed was happening.
Before the race, Sebastien Baudin from Tempo Japan told me he would organise transferring an entry into my name. He recommended that I race and explained that the transfer would be arranged through a friend of his, someone I did not know personally.
As a foreigner in Japan who does not speak Japanese, communicating directly with the race organisers was extremely difficult. Almost all communication surrounding the event was conducted in Japanese, so I relied on someone who spoke both languages and was familiar with the local running community.
Based on what I had been told, I genuinely believed the entry had been, or would be, properly transferred into my name before the race.
When I later discovered there had been a misunderstanding, I contacted the organisers myself to explain my understanding of the situation and clarify what had occurred.
Japan Running News subsequently reported that I had cheated and had been banned from the event. In my opinion, those articles did not fairly present the circumstances surrounding the attempted entry transfer or the misunderstanding that led to the situation.
I also provided Brett directly with screenshots documenting the miscommunication that led me to believe I had been legitimately entered into the race. Despite having access to that information, he chose not to include it in his reporting. I cannot speak to his reasons for doing so.
Brett also works for the Ageo City Half Marathon, and I believe this represents a conflict of interest that should have been disclosed more clearly. In my view, it raises legitimate questions about the independence of the reporting.
What makes the entire situation even more confusing to me is that multiple people within the international running community have independently told me that Brett had said, in person, that he wanted to help me obtain a legitimate race entry for the event. If those accounts are accurate, it makes the way the situation was later portrayed publicly even harder for me to understand.
My Arrest in Japan (2025)
The second matter concerns my arrest after bringing prescribed THC medication into Japan.
This is the easier issue to address because there is one point I want to make absolutely clear.
I broke Japanese law.
I am not denying that, nor am I trying to minimise my responsibility.
At the time, however, I was going through one of the most difficult periods of my life. I was dealing with significant mental health challenges while also navigating serious U.S. visa complications. I had spoken openly about both of these issues on my podcast before I travelled to Japan, and those episodes remain publicly available.
The THC medication had been legally prescribed to me as part of a documented medical treatment plan. It was medication I had been using under medical supervision and had been legally authorised in the jurisdiction where it was prescribed.
None of that changed Japanese law. My mistake was assuming that, because the medication had been legally prescribed elsewhere, traveling with it would also be lawful. It was not.
I fully accept responsibility for that mistake.
What I believe was missing from much of the reporting, however, was the medical context. Without that information, the story reads as though I was simply traveling internationally with illicit drugs.
The reality is more nuanced. I was a patient using legally prescribed medication who failed to understand that Japanese drug laws do not recognise those prescriptions.
That distinction does not excuse what happened, but I believe it is important context.
As with the Ageo matter, I intend to publish the relevant medical documentation once I have gathered everything together.
My Concerns About Brett Larner’s Reporting
My concerns are not simply about criticism. Journalists should be free to report on matters of public interest, and I accept that criticism comes with having a public profile.
My concern is that, despite repeatedly providing additional context and asking that it be considered, I do not believe that context was reflected in the reporting.
After returning from Japan, I contacted Brett on multiple occasions to explain aspects of both situations that I believed had been misunderstood or omitted. I also discussed these events publicly and in detail on my podcast.
Despite those efforts, I do not believe the articles were updated to include what I consider to be important contextual information.
It remains unclear to me why Brett has consistently omitted information that I believe is relevant and has presented these events in such a negative light. I can only speak to my own experience, which is that I provided screenshots, explanations and other information that I believed materially changed the context, yet they were not meaningfully reflected in the published articles.
I also observed Brett participating in online discussions where I believe false and misleading claims about me were being repeated. In my view, this contributed to an environment that encouraged personal attacks rather than fair discussion of the facts.
I do not know why Brett formed such a negative opinion of me, and I cannot know his motivations.
I can only speculate as to why this context has repeatedly been left out. Around that time, I had moved to Japan and was producing a successful YouTube series documenting Japanese running culture and racing. Brett has publicly expressed negative views about YouTubers on social media, despite also publishing video content himself. Whether that influenced his reporting is something I cannot know, but it is difficult for me to understand why so much relevant context, including evidence I personally shared with him, has been consistently excluded.
In addition, when I had concluded that Brett Larner has a core issue with envy around YouTubers – I commented on one of his videos in December 2023 on Instagram and asked him what the difference is between posting a video on Instagram and on YouTube and he subsequently blocked me on Instagram.
Why I’m Publishing This
This page is not an attempt to rewrite history.
I made mistakes.
I have accepted responsibility where I believe responsibility is mine.
What I object to is the omission of context that I believe materially changes how these events are understood.
I believe readers deserve access to both the reporting and my own explanation, supported by the underlying documentation wherever possible.
Over the coming weeks, I will continue adding emails, correspondence, medical records where appropriate, screenshots and other supporting material relating to both matters.
My hope is simply that anyone searching my name has access to the complete picture before forming their own opinion.
Further concerns about Brett Larner’s Character
It is also worth noting that, over the years, a number of people within the Japanese running community have told me they have had financial disputes with Brett Larner in relation to his work as an athlete manager.
Among the names that have been mentioned to me are Yuki Kawauchi and Sebastien Baudin. I understand that Yuki Kawauchi has publicly expressed concerns on his Facebook page regarding financial matters, although I encourage readers to review any such statements for themselves rather than rely on my characterisation of them.
I cannot personally verify every account that has been shared with me, and I was not directly involved in those matters. However, I have heard similar concerns from at least ten different people over several years. While I cannot say whether those allegations are true, they have contributed to my understanding of Brett’s reputation within parts of the Japanese running community.
