TOKYO: Japan’s head swimming coach has pushed the alarm button after the country failed to make a splash at the world championships in Rome.

Norimasa Hirai, mentor to multiple Olympic breaststroke champion Kosuke Kitajima, wants Japan to become more “elitist” in the way they develop their top swimmers.

“We are slowly slipping behind the top countries in the world,” the 46-year-old told Japanese media on Wednesday. “We need an elitist mentality across the board.

“It’s no good having a couple of crack swimmers. We need everyone to become elite.”

Japan won just four medals at the recently ended world championships in Rome, Junya Koga’s surprise victory in the men’s 100 metres backstroke the country’s only gold.

With Kitajima not taking part as he contemplates he future, teenage backstroker Ryosuke Irie became the new poster boy for the Japanese swim team.

The 19-year-old trailed in fourth in the 100 but took silver behind American Aaron Peirsol in the 200 backstroke.

Japan’s swimmers otherwise caused barely a ripple in a tournament dominated by the controversy over the latest all-polyurethane bodysuits.

“There are areas where you cannot simply blame the swimsuits,” said Hirai after Japan finished with fewer medals than at last year’s Beijing Olympics.

An unprecedented 43 world records tumbled in Rome but Japanese athletes failed to trouble the statisticians despite the opening of the National Institute of Sports Sciences.

Unveiled at great cost and amid fanfare ahead of the 2008 Beijing Games, the state-of-the-art complex has yet to yield the expected results for the billions of yen invested in it.

“We need to raise our game,” said Hirai. “If we set our sights high enough then naturally you will see an improvement in our level.”