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November 10, 2025
 

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INSIDE SUMO

SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 12, 2023
Should Terunofuji be considered an all-time great?
With the yokozuna's status for next month's Summer Basho still pending, it’s worth pondering how sumo history would judge him were he to retire without achieving further glory.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 5, 2023
Sumo's declining recruitment shows need for fresh ideas
As Japanese children gravitate toward sumo and rugby, the Japan Sumo Association may need to take a more active role in overseeing the sport's grassroots levels.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 29, 2023
Kiribayama’s victory raises possibility of historic double promotion
The Spring Basho winner is the man best positioned to take advantage of what's likely to be a liberal promotion atmosphere for the foreseeable future.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 23, 2023
Sumo's second division takes center stage in Osaka
Jūryō outshines a top division lacking stars and excitement.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 15, 2023
Pressure back on JSA to reconnect with fans as pandemic ends
After nearly three years of restrictions, there are plenty of ways for sumo officials to widen the sport's audience both domestically and globally.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 8, 2023
In sumo, size doesn't matter (much)
The lack of weight classes in Japan's national sport makes it unique among combat sports such as boxing, where smaller competitors would quickly find themselves overpowered.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 1, 2023
Makuuchi's international brotherhood grows with Kazakhstan's arrival
Kinbozan’s promotion to the rank of maegashira has resulted in sumo’s top tier gaining its first-ever wrestler from the central Asian nation.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 22, 2023
Sumo's changed landscape reflected in 2023 depth chart
If all 600 or so active rikishi, and those projected to join in the near future, were available to be chosen by stables, which men would make the top eight?
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 15, 2023
Hawaiian sumo makes triumphant return to Kokugikan ring at Hakuho Cup
After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2021 edition and kept foreign wrestlers away in 2022, the former yokozuna's annual youth tournament was back in force on Sunday.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 1, 2023
Hakuho positions himself to dominate sumo once again
Now known as Miyagino, the former yokozuna's proactive recruiting style has seen the stable add some seriously impressive talent under his watch.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 25, 2023
Not promoting Takakeisho is the right move for both him and sumo
Against a field which contained no other ozeki or yokozuna, the 26-year-old failed to dominate in a manner which would have made promotion impossible to deny.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 11, 2023
Hoshoryu's recent rise may earn him a speedy promotion
Japan's national sport has been going through a period of flux over the past few years and is in desperate need of a new marquee name.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 4, 2023
Another season of turbulence in store for sumo in 2023
While there are several candidates to become sumo's next big thing, it seems likely that it will take time for one or more wrestlers to separate themselves from their rivals.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 21, 2022
Sumo's topsy-turvy 2022 showed hopeful signs for sport's recovery
For the first time in over 30 years, all six grand tournaments in a calendar year were won by different wrestlers, with rank-and-filers sweeping the final three tournaments.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 14, 2022
High school hopefuls make leap into professional sumo
While university graduates have dominated headlines at recent tournaments, just one of eight new wrestlers entering the sport ahead of the New Year Basho boasts a college background.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 8, 2022
Wrestlers with amateur backgrounds becoming new normal in sumo
These days elite top-tier wrestlers without an amateur background are an increasingly scarce sight.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Nov 30, 2022
Focused Abi completes redemption arc in Fukuoka
Two years after his infamous suspension for violating COVID-19 protocols, the Saitama native won his first Emperor's Cup after triumphing in a rare multi-way playoff at the Kyushu Basho.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Nov 23, 2022
In the land of baseball, sumo and soccer share a close relationship
Japan's national sport and the 'beautiful game' have formed many ties over the years, with even top-ranked wrestlers attending matches and taking part in promotional events.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Nov 16, 2022
Younger wrestlers stepping up early at wild Kyushu Basho
With the top of the banzuke ratings struggling in Fukuoka, several rikishi are looking to capitalize on strong starts as they chase the last Emperor's Cup of 2022.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Nov 9, 2022
Should the Japan Sumo Association reconsider the Kyushu Basho?
While better ticket sales and increased income could potentially be found elsewhere, the value of holding a tournament in Fukuoka isn't just monetary.
Tsunami threat passes following magnitude 6.9 quake off Iwate
A tsunami advisory was issued for Iwate Prefecture on Sunday evening following a strong earthquake. The advisory was later called off, after waves measuring 20 centimeters were recorded in some areas.
The Toyota buyout is a major test for Japan’s reforms
Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota Motor, speaks during a media preview at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Oct. 29. Minority investors are challenging the carmaker's bid to take affiliate Toyota Industries Corp. private.
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
Takaichi plans pay cuts for herself and her ministers
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi chats with her Cabinet members in parliament in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Mother of Thai girl forced into sex work in Tokyo detained in Taiwan
The Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
Cleanliness gets competitive at Tokyo’s Spogomi world cup
On Oct. 29, teams from 33 qualifying countries scoured the streets of Shibuya for all manners of trash as part of the Spogomi litter-picking competition.
Jon Homewood: ‘There’s beauty in what we throw away’
After a peripatetic childhood around the world, teacher and artist Jon Homewood ended up coming to Japan in 2012 for a professional opportunity.
Yokozuna duo Onosato and Hoshoryu poised for another clash of titans
Yokozuna duo Onosato (right) and Hoshoryu clash for the title on the final day of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Sept. 28 at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
High-speed rail is expensive and difficult, but seen as a key to growth
Achal Khare, former managing director at India’s National High Speed Rail Corporation, gives a presentation during the IHRA Forum 2025 in Tokyo on Oct. 23.
A 40-year wait for ‘Mishima’ ends at TIFF
Made at a time when Japan was still grappling with Yukio Mishima’s legacy, Paul Schrader’s biopic “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters” was blocked from screening in the country for decades.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

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By Yukana Inoue

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo

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