The arrest in Japan on charges of rape of five players from a top university rugby team has shocked the country, but questions are now being asked about the conduct of other teams after it emerged that some ice-hockey players were also arrested on similar charges last year. From Tokyo, Juliet Hindell reports:

The fact that two sports teams from two top universities were associated in the same week with rape incidents has unsettled many in Japan. The first case involved five members of Teikyo University's rugby team.

They allegedly raped a young woman at a party at a karaoke bar last November. The five have been arrested and other team members are also under suspicion.

Police believe the incident was planned, as one of the team members had a part-time job at the bar. University sports teams command a high level of respect in Japan, but that image is being called into question.

It also emerged this week that five players at the Nippon Sports Science University's ice-hockey team were arrested on suspicion of raping a woman in May last year. Their coach, who is also part of Japan's Olympic skating team, has been dismissed and has gone into hiding.

He is accused of not reporting the incident. Officially, rape is a relatively uncommon crime in Japan, but many assaults are believed to go unreported.