NAGOYA (Kyodo) The suspended prison terms meted out to three sumo wrestlers for the fatal beating of a 17-year-old colleague were finalized Tuesday after both prosecutors and counsel did not appeal the ruling by the deadline.
The Nagoya District Court last month sentenced Yuichiro Izuka, 26, Masakazu Kimura, 25, and Masanori Fujii, 23, to 2 1/2 to three years in prison, suspended for five years, for the death of Takashi Saito, who had the ring name Tokitaizan, in June 2007 in Aichi Prefecture.
The court ruled that Junichi Yamamoto, the 58-year-old stablemaster at the time, instructed the three to assault Saito, while recognizing the wrongfulness of the three in the gang violence.
The Japan Sumo Association expelled the three when they were convicted.