The Mongolian government appointed Kyokushuzan, the first Mongolian to wrestle in professional sumo’s top division, as goodwill ambassador to Japan on Thursday in a bid to lure Japanese tourists to the country. During a ceremony at the Mongolian Embassy in Tokyo, Kyokushuzan received a blue satin band and an ornament from Ultnasan Ulambayar, Mongolia’s deputy minister of infrastructure.
“We have a great vast prairie, we can see beautiful stars, and we remain pure just like the Japanese in olden days,” remarked the 29-year-old Kyokushuzan. “Please visit Mongolia, a country with a prairie and nomads.”
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