Usage of the verb 続く in past tense


From [this
article](https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10011702601000/k10011702601000.html)

> 日本では、スポーツの選手がコーチなどから暴力やパワーハラスメントを受ける問題が **続きました** 。  
>  The problem of sportsmen receiving violence and harassment from coaches in
> Japan continued.

I don't understand why 続く is written in the past tense here. If you read the
rest of the article there is no suggestion that the harassment has come to an
end. I would have written 続いています.

When is it correct to use 続いた and why is it correct in this case?

Edit after @Ringil's comment: I'm familiar with the idea that た represents
completion, and also with ている being a continuation of state. But when I apply
these concepts to 続く I get confused. For example つづいている = "the state of
continuing continues". This seems like a tautology. How does 続く differ from
続いている? How can we understand 続いた = "the continuing is complete"? Is this
equivalent to もう続かない? Its sounds from @kandyman's comment that this is not the
case. His translation of 'has continued' is more what I would think of as 続いてる
i.e. we've done some continuing and the state still persists. I've got myself
very confused.




It's correct to express what happened as "happened". Past tense doesn't
necessarily guarantee that something ceased.

In this example, it continues to 日本ユニセフは…考えた, which implies that the former is
a trigger to the latter. So, using past tense is more cohesive to the next
line.

