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June 07, 2025
 

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John Gunning
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Jun 4, 2025
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Though many former yokozuna have exited over the past two decades, Hakuho’s resignation is the biggest blow to the Japan Sumo Association.
Onosato celebrates winning the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Sunday.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
May 28, 2025
Historic rise to yokozuna just the beginning for Onosato
There is a good argument to be made that Onosato is already the most widely decorated wrestler in sumo history.
Onosato (left) battles Gonoyama on Day 6 of the Summer Basho. With Onosato on the cusp of promotion to yokozuna, there could soon be two titans at the top of the sport fighting for titles.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
May 21, 2025
Onosato’s march to yokozuna could usher in golden age for sumo
It's been 5½ years since two yokozuna battled head-to-head for an Emperor's Cup. With Onosato on the cusp of promotion, that streak could soon be over.
Onosato (left) battles Abi on Day 3 of the Summer Basho in Tokyo on Tuesday.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
May 14, 2025
Sumo title contenders already emerging in early stages of Tokyo meet
With Onosato looking untouchable during the summer meet’s opening stages, excitement is already building over his yokozuna bid.
Hoshoryu (right) practices against Kotozakura at Ryogoku Kokugikan on May 2.
SUMO
May 9, 2025
Hoshoryu dominates rivals in practice, but real test awaits at May Basho
Sumo is a sport where practice results are unreliable if taken as a predictor of future success.
Former sekiwake Toyonoshima and Airi Hisano train at Tachihi Sumo Club on May 1.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
May 7, 2025
Former sekiwake Toyonoshima is new head coach at innovative women’s club
Detailing how she struggled with injury over the past few years, Airi Hisano said she had considered retirement before being approached to join the club.
Chiyoshoma (right) battles Churanoumi during the New Year Basho in Tokyo in January. The Mongolian's drop down the sumo rankings ahead of the May tournament was one of the biggest surprises of the latest banzuke.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 30, 2025
Puzzling decisions and opaque rankings are all part of sumo's charm
There are always a handful of head-scratching promotions and demotions, and the latest banzuke is no exception.
Wrestlers at a Yokozuna Deliberation Council practice in 2016. Although banzuke ranking positions aren’t at stake, the fact that the practice is so close to a real tournament ensures that most rikishi give it their all.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 23, 2025
More than just training: Sumo's open practices are intense — and entertaining
The Yokozuna Deliberation Council practice is a rare — and, when open to the public, free — chance to see sumo's top wrestlers battle it out in the final days before a basho.
Kirishima (behind) battles Atamifuji during a regional tour event in Hyogo Prefecture in 2023.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 16, 2025
Sumo's throwback regional tours offer glimpse into sport's heart and history
With tickets for grand tournaments tough to come by, regional tours are the best chances for fans to watch live sumo — and even interact with the sport's biggest names.
Takayasu during the one-day Annual Sumo Tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Feb 9, 2020
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Apr 9, 2025
Takayasu’s latest heartbreak makes sumo history
The former ozeki now has more second-place finishes without winning a championship than any other wrestler.
Onosato (left) receives the Emperor's Cup from Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku in Osaka on March 23.
SUMO
Apr 2, 2025
Sumo’s 'Big 12' are an eclectic group
Only a dozen rikishi now active have lifted the Emperor’s Cup on the final day of a tournament.
Onosato celebrates after winning the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka on Sunday.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 25, 2025
Ozeki Onosato on doorstep of yokozuna promotion after latest title
The Nishonoseki stable star was the class of the field once again in Kansai.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw takes part in a sumo demonstration in Tokyo on Friday.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 19, 2025
Japan’s twin obsessions meet as MLB visits sumo’s heartland
Sumo is often referred to as Japan’s national sport but it’s baseball that is the country’s one true obsession. This week, those two sports are intersecting in Tokyo.
Onosato (right) has eased to a 3-0 start in the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Mar 12, 2025
Sumo in March comes in like a lion
It’s been a rocky start to spring for sumo both in Japan and abroad.
Hoshoryu will make his debut at yokozuna during the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament, which begins in Osaka on Sunday.
SUMO
Mar 7, 2025
New yokozuna Hoshoryu and rising star Onosato enter Spring Basho as favorites
Hoshoryu already has a pair of titles to his name, and is coming off perhaps the most impressive eight-bout stretch of his career to date.
Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, on Jan. 26, the final day of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 5, 2025
Can sumo avoid becoming another soulless corporate sport?
Whether sumo also falls into the trap of creating greater separation between supporters and athletes remains to be seen.
Hoshoryu holds up the latest "banzuke" sumo ranking chart in Osaka on Tuesday.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 26, 2025
Latest sumo ranking sheet has plenty to catch the eye
The release of every new "banzuke," or ranking list, signals the imminent arrival of the next official tournament — and the latest has some striking changes.
Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 19, 2025
What is the ceiling for sumo’s newest yokozuna?
The ceremonies are complete, the celebrations are done, and now it’s time for Hoshoryu to get down to the daily task of leading Japan’s national sport.
Shishi (left) wrestles Tokihayate at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center on Nov. 10.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Feb 12, 2025
Could Ukraine be the next nation to produce a yokozuna?
The amateur powerhouse is starting to make its presence felt in professional sumo.
Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (left) describes a detail of a mawashi presented as a gift to French President Jacques Chirac at the Elysee Palace in 1999.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 5, 2025
No Paris Syndrome for Japan’s national sport
Despite an up and down history, sumo and France remain amorous.
Japan eyes tougher rules for foreign residents and tax hike for tourists
A tax-free shop in Kyoto in April 2024. Last week, members of a Liberal Democratic Party study group drafted a proposal seeking to scrap the country's tax-free shopping system altogether.
From ridicule to redemption: Rice crisis returns Koizumi to the spotlight
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to the media as he inspects a warehouse storing stockpiled rice in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 30.
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
Trump and Musk trade barbs on social media as alliance crumbles
The trouble between U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk started brewing days ago, when Musk denounced Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
New Naoshima museum bets on Asia, not the West
Detail of Takashi Murakami, “Rakuchu-Rakugai-zu Byobu: Iwasa Matabei RIP” (2023-25)
Japan’s prison reform focuses on rehabilitation
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday. Suzuki said preparations for the changes that will focus more on rehabilitation are being actively made at each correctional facility.
Six months into 2025, J-pop is having a full-on identity crisis (and a great time)
The year so far is only proving that Mrs. Green Apple is the biggest band in Japan. Their success also seems to be hinting at a change in the musical landscape more broadly.
Nintendo’s Switch 2 console is finally here
The Switch 2 is Nintendo's first new gaming console in eight years.
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.

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After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
By Alex K.T. Martin

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