In response to successive scandals involving physical violence, the Japan Sumo Association announced Thursday that a third-party committee has convened and will question every member of the JSA.

"Our goal is the preservation of sumo," committee chairman Keiichi Tadaki, a former prosecutor general, told a news conference at Ryogoku Kokugikan. "It is important to grasp the reality (of the situation)."

About 900 people will be included in the inquiry, including active wrestlers and elders, and the committee indicated it will establish a comment box to allow former association members to submit reports of past incidents.

The committee was established Feb. 1 and will also consider the causes of the assault that led to the retirement of Mongolian yokozuna Harumafuji.