The Japan Sumo Association on Tuesday issued a fire-ant warning to its wrestlers at the ongoing Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.
The JSA put up posters at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, where the 15-day tournament is being held, to warn wrestlers of poisonous ants that have been discovered in a warehouse outside of Nagoya.
The posters urged wrestlers to "not walk to and from training rooms barefooted, to put on some kind of footwear."
On Monday, a dozen or so ants — native to South America and capable of causing severe allergic reactions that can result in death — were found in cargo transported from Nagoya's port to a warehouse in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture.
The ants were exterminated and the cargo will be discarded, the prefectural government said.