Yokozuna Harumafuji announced his intention to retire at a press conference on Wednesday.
The decision is the result of a scandal involving the violent beating of a junior wrestler, and now means the careers of the last two yokozuna to retire end under a cloud.
The resignation was inevitable once Tottori prefectural police had indicated that they would send papers to prosecutors in the wake of stablemaster Takanohana's filing of a report with them.