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June 06, 2025
 

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JAPAN SUMO ASSOCIATION

Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Jun 4, 2025
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Though many former yokozuna have exited over the past two decades, Hakuho’s resignation is the biggest blow to the Japan Sumo Association.
Then-<i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs the New Year's ring-entering rite in 2018. The Japan Sumo Association has accepted his resignation and he will officially leave the association on June 9.
SUMO
Jun 2, 2025
Former yokozuna Hakuho to leave sumo association
Hakuho's departure comes more than a year after his stable closed down over a physical abuse incident involving one of its wrestlers.
Onosato speaks to reporters after receiving a report from the Yokozuna Deliberation Council, on Monday in Ami, Ibaraki Prefecture.
SUMO
May 27, 2025
Onosato locks in promotion to yokozuna
Onosato will reach the rank of yokozuna in only 13 tournaments after his debut, the fastest among those who debuted in or after 1958.
Chiyoshoma (right) battles Churanoumi during the New Year Basho in Tokyo in January. The Mongolian's drop down the sumo rankings ahead of the May tournament was one of the biggest surprises of the latest banzuke.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 30, 2025
Puzzling decisions and opaque rankings are all part of sumo's charm
There are always a handful of head-scratching promotions and demotions, and the latest banzuke is no exception.
Wrestlers at a Yokozuna Deliberation Council practice in 2016. Although banzuke ranking positions aren’t at stake, the fact that the practice is so close to a real tournament ensures that most rikishi give it their all.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 23, 2025
More than just training: Sumo's open practices are intense — and entertaining
The Yokozuna Deliberation Council practice is a rare — and, when open to the public, free — chance to see sumo's top wrestlers battle it out in the final days before a basho.
Kirishima (behind) battles Atamifuji during a regional tour event in Hyogo Prefecture in 2023.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 16, 2025
Sumo's throwback regional tours offer glimpse into sport's heart and history
With tickets for grand tournaments tough to come by, regional tours are the best chances for fans to watch live sumo — and even interact with the sport's biggest names.
Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (left) describes a detail of a mawashi presented as a gift to French President Jacques Chirac at the Elysee Palace in 1999.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 5, 2025
No Paris Syndrome for Japan’s national sport
Despite an up and down history, sumo and France remain amorous.
Hoshoryu (front, second from left) celebrates after being promoted to yokozuna on Wednesday in Tokyo.
SUMO
Jan 29, 2025
Sumo’s newest yokozuna is all smiles — but major challenges await
For all the feel-good energy that has surrounded Hoshoryu the past few days, the Mongolian will need to take his sumo to another level if he is to last in the rank.
Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku (right) alongside David Rothschild, the promoter of an upcoming tournament in Paris, on Sunday in Tokyo
SUMO
Jan 19, 2025
Top sumo pros to enter the ring in Paris in June 2026
It will be the third such event in the French capital and the first since 1995.
Terunofuji performs during a ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Tuesday.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 8, 2025
Questions linger over Terunofuji's health ahead of year's first tournament
During the Yokozuna Deliberation Council's practice session on Monday, Terunofuji’s latent power, but also his physical decline, were on full display.
Chugo Saito at Isenoumi stable on Friday. Saito has joined his older brother, Seigo, at the stable.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Dec 31, 2024
Sumo’s brotherhood gets latest inductee
Wakaikari’s younger sibling Chugo Saito is the first-ever high schooler to get a special dispensation.
A full house at Dolphins Arena takes in a bout featuring Takarafuji during the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament in July.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 25, 2024
New Nagoya arena won't ease sumo's ticket crunch
A shiny new arena in Nagoya will seat 17,000 but capacity won't be nearly that high for sumo, meaning there's no relief on the horizon for ticket-hungry fans.
Miyagino (left), or former yokozuna Hakuho, alongside a young medalist at the Hakuho Cup in February 2023
SUMO
Dec 18, 2024
Amateur sumo world caught by surprise as Hakuho Cup set to go ahead
It was widely assumed that the tourney would be put on hiatus in the wake of an abuse scandal that resulted in the shuttering of Hakuho's Miyagino stable.
Japan’s national sport made its second foray into Western Europe, and first to the U.K., with a five-day tournament at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall in October 1991.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 11, 2024
London calling: Sumo's U.K. trip brings back memories of 1991
Such was sumo’s popularity in the U.K. in the late '80s and early '90s that all five days at the 5,000-seat Royal Albert Hall sold out quickly.
Royal Albert Hall in London will host a sumo tournament next year.
SUMO
Dec 5, 2024
Japan Sumo Association to hold tourney in London next year in rare overseas event
The announcement means the world's top professional sumo wrestlers will be competing in London for the first time since 1991.
Yokozuna Kitanofuji enters the ring during the May 1970 grand sumo tournament in Tokyo.
SUMO
Nov 21, 2024
Ex-yokozuna Kitanofuji dies at 82
After a stellar career, Kitanofuji remained popular in retirement for delivering witty comments during live sumo tournament broadcasts.
Shonannoumi hits the dirt at the hands of Kotozakura during a bout in Tokyo in May. Shonannoumi is among the many top wrestlers who have dropped out of this month's regional tour due to injury.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Oct 9, 2024
Spate of sumo tour dropouts highlights need to rethink wrestlers' health
While it would be foolish not to capitalize on sumo’s surging popularity, expanded tour schedules cut into recovery time and push wrestlers to their physical limits.
A sumo referee performs the dohyō matsuri, or ring purification ceremony, in January 2017 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Sep 5, 2024
No talking, no eating, no standing: Inside sumo's ring purification ceremony
Spectators are required to stay seated for its duration, and refrain from using flash when taking photos.
Kotozakura (left) defeats Terunofuji at Dolphins Arena in Nagoya on July 28.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 21, 2024
NFL-style changes sumo could and should make
Many of the sport’s centuries-old systems and methodologies are an increasingly awkward fit in the modern world.
Wrestlers battle during the national women's championships in Osaka in 2018. Amateur sumo is a great way to experience the sport for tourists who are unable to get tickets to professional tournaments.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 8, 2024
No sumo tickets? No problem. Here are some other ways to take in the sport.
Japan’s ongoing tourism boom has resulted in a year-round influx of people interested in experiencing the country’s national sport.
Japan’s fertility rate hits record low despite government push
The total number of births dropped to about 686,000, marking the first time the figure has fallen below 700,000, according to a health ministry release on Wednesday.
Japan eyes tougher rules for foreign residents and tax hike for tourists
A tax-free shop in Kyoto in April 2024. Last week, members of a Liberal Democratic Party study group drafted a proposal seeking to scrap the country's tax-free shopping system altogether.
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
Is Japan ready to say goodbye to tax-free shopping?
Arrows lead to the tax-free counter at a branch of discount retailer Don Quijote in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward.
New Naoshima museum bets on Asia, not the West
Detail of Takashi Murakami, “Rakuchu-Rakugai-zu Byobu: Iwasa Matabei RIP” (2023-25)
Japan’s prison reform focuses on rehabilitation
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday. Suzuki said preparations for the changes that will focus more on rehabilitation are being actively made at each correctional facility.
Six months into 2025, J-pop is having a full-on identity crisis (and a great time)
The year so far is only proving that Mrs. Green Apple is the biggest band in Japan. Their success also seems to be hinting at a change in the musical landscape more broadly.
Nintendo’s Switch 2 console is finally here
The Switch 2 is Nintendo's first new gaming console in eight years.
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.

Podcast

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Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
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By Alex K.T. Martin

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