Wrestlers from sumo's elite makuuchi division will take part in a weeklong tour in China next June, the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) said Tuesday.
JSA officials said some 120 sumo grapplers and officials will make the trip to Beijing and Shanghai from June 3 to 11.
"We would like to contribute to increasing good will between China and Japan and the exchange of cultures," JSA chairman Kitanoumi said.
The wrestlers will perform exhibition bouts in Beijing on June 5-6 and in Shanghai on June 9-10 -- returning to the two cities to demonstrate Japan's ancient sport for the first time since April 1973.