Former yokozuna Wajima, who won elite makuuchi division tournaments 14 times in the 1970s and 1980s, and was known for his left-arm throwing technique, has died at age 70, his family said Tuesday.
Wajima died in his Tokyo home on Monday. In recent years he had undergone surgery for throat cancer and had also been battling lung cancer.
A native of Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, Wajima gained fame while still a student, winning the national athletic meet when he was in high school and twice becoming the amateur sumo champion as a student at Nihon University.