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May 16, 2025
 

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John Gunning
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.
Hoshoryu (front, second from left) celebrates after being promoted to yokozuna on Wednesday in Tokyo.
SUMO
Jan 29, 2025
Sumo’s newest yokozuna is all smiles — but major challenges await
For all the feel-good energy that has surrounded Hoshoryu the past few days, the Mongolian will need to take his sumo to another level if he is to last in the rank.
Hoshoryu dispatches Oho in a playoff to clinch the Emperor's Cup on the final day of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday in Tokyo.
SUMO / Basho reports
Jan 26, 2025
Hoshoryu overcomes rank-and-file wrestlers to put yokozuna promotion in sight
Despite the best efforts of Kinbozan and Oho, it was ozeki Hoshoryu that eventually emerged victorious in the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
Yokozuna Terunofuji enters the ring at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo earlier this month during what would be his final tournament.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 22, 2025
Terunofuji’s career was unique — and great
Most yokozuna are evaluated based on wins and Emperor's Cup titles. But Terunofuji's great career wasn't quantifiable by numbers alone.
Success of Chinese-made fighter jets against India raises alarm in Asia
Chinese J-10 fighter jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force August 1st Aerobatics Team perform during a media demonstration at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, in November 2015.
Japan to recognize Taiwan as place of origin in family registration system
Masataka Yuhara, secretary-general of the Friends of Lee Teng Hui Association in Japan, which has been calling for "Taiwan" to be permitted as a place of origin in family registers.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
Two crew feared dead after ASDF training jet crashes in Aichi
Self-Defense Forces personnel collect apparent parts of an Air Self-Defense Force T-4 training jet from a reservoir in Inuyama, Aichi Prefeture, on Thursday. The jet crashed shortly after takeoff a day earlier.
Historian Rob Fitts discovers earliest ever reference to baseball in Japan
Japan's Shohei Ohtani carries the Japanese flag onto the field before the start of the World Baseball Classic final against the United States in Miami on March 21, 2023.
Harmfully hot days for pregnant women in Japan nearly doubled over past five years
New research by a U.S. climate scientists’ group reveals that extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, nearly doubling the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women over the past five years.
Sumo title contenders already emerging in early stages of Tokyo meet
Onosato (left) battles Abi on Day 3 of the Summer Basho in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.

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