Shingo Ito

Former Sumo Champ’s Reform Pledge Spurs Shake-Up in Stodgy National Sport

Tokyo. A former sumo champion who has pledged to shake up Japan’s scandal-tainted, 2,000-year-old national sport took a seat on its governing board after a surprise election win on Monday.

Takanohana, now a stable master, pledged to help revitalize the sport, which has seen its fan base wither in the face of baseball and football, and to campaign to have sumo taught in schools.

“I don’t know whether I have caused a stir or not,” the 37-year-old said when asked about his challenge to sport’s establishment, which led to the first board election in the Japan Sumo Association in eight years.

“But I want to be more active in developing young talent and in reflecting their views in the process. The world of sumo is a prestigious society with great importance for traditional culture. It is urgent to keep sumo fans attracted.”

Takanohana, joined by six other stable masters, last month pushed to have board members elected rather than chosen behind closed doors by a powerful group which includes stable masters, top athletes and judges.

Sumo has been rocked by a series of recent scandals, including illegal drug use and allegations of match-fixing.

Many Japanese were shocked by the 2007 case of a stable master, now in jail, who ordered the brutal hazing of a 17-year-old wrestler who died after being beaten with a beer bottle and baseball bat.

There has also been disquiet over the rising dominance of foreign fighters, mainly from Mongolia and Eastern Europe but as far afield as Brazil and Tonga.

Sumo has not had a Japanese-born champion in more than three years, and in recent tournaments more than one third of competitors have been foreigners.

In the latest scandal, controversial grand champion Asashoryu, a Mongolian, came under fire after he reportedly punched a worker at a Tokyo night club in January. Police may question the 29-year-old, whose real name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj.

“What should not have happened has happened again,” said Musashigawa, who was re-elected as JSA chairman. “The association, for its part, feels responsible for the incidents. I want to cooperate with the board members to prevent their recurrence.”

Sumo

Agence France-Presse

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