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Tabata became the president of Japan Swimming Federation after World War II. Japan was excluded from international sporting events at the time and Tabata worked for his country's early return to world stage. He organized a national swimming championship to coincide with the 1948 London Olympics to show off Japanese swimmers' abilities. Competitors including Hironoshin Furuhashi and Shiro Hashizume finished faster than the gold medalists in London, but their records were not recognized worldwide because Japan was not a member of the International Swimming Federation. Their membership was accepted a year later.
Tabata served as the chef demission for Japan's delegation at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952 when his country's participation was accepted for the first time since the war. He held the same position in Melbourne four years later.
After Tokyo won the bid to host the 1964 Olympics, Tabata was appointed the head of the Games' organizing committee and lobbied for making women's volleyball an Olympic event.Japan's women team won gold in the Tokyo Olympics, beating the USSR in the final. He was forced to resign before the Games due to a dispute over Japan's participation in the 1962 Asian Games. Indonesia, which hosted the event, refused to issue visas for athletes from Israel and Taiwan, and became at odds with the International Olympic Committee.
After the Tokyo Olympics, Tabata took part in the foundation of Tokyo Swimming Center, which later produced Olympic medalists including Kosuke Kitajima, Reiko Nakamura, and Haruka Ueda.
Tabata was involved in Japan's successful bid to host the 1972 Winter Olympics and became JOC president in 1973.
Tabata died in 1984. He was 85.
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