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July 05, 2025
 

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SUMO

After decades of dominance by foreign wrestlers, last month Onosato became just the second Japanese this century to be named to sumo's highest rank of <i>yokozuna</i>.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 17, 2025
The national sport of Japan wrestles with a generational change
As one legend departs, another star is rising. In a new era, sumo is grappling with its future.
Former yokozuna Hakuho gives a news conference to announce his retirement from the Japan Sumo Association and reveal his future plans in Tokyo on Monday.
SUMO
Jun 9, 2025
Hakuho vows to grow sumo globally after exiting domestic sports body
The impetus for the decision, Hakuho said, was the failure of the Japan Sumo Association to provide a clear timeline about the restoration of Miyagino stable.
Oscar Dolan (center), the founder of the New York Sumo Club, officiates at a match between Josh Ortiz (left) and Daniel Akandu during the Empire Cup competition at Japan Village in New York on May 17.
SUMO
Jun 3, 2025
At this New York City sumo club, ‘Everybody gets thrown’
The New York Sumo Club has about 100 wrestlers, with around 20 regulars.
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.
Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, on Jan. 26, the final day of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 5, 2025
Can sumo avoid becoming another soulless corporate sport?
Whether sumo also falls into the trap of creating greater separation between supporters and athletes remains to be seen.
Aonishiki competes at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Jan. 28.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Nov 6, 2024
Head to sumo's second tier and it's a dog-eat-dog world
Jūryō action is something fans of exciting sumo shouldn’t miss.
Gold medalist Nao Kusaka celebrates after winning the men's 77-kg Greco-Roman event at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS
Aug 8, 2024
How wrestler Nao Kusaka used sumo to win Olympic gold
A timid and kind-hearted boy, Kusaka reached the top by developing resilient legs in the sumo ring and fully dedicating himself to his craft.
Akebono waves an American flag as he watches U.S. skaters in Nagano on Feb. 5, 1998, ahead of the Winter Olympics.
SUMO
Apr 11, 2024
Sumo legend Akebono, first foreign-born yokozuna, dies at 54
Akebono, born Chadwick Haheo Rowan in Waimanalo, Hawaii, became the 64th yokozuna in 1993 and gained immense popularity.
Designated hitter and closer Shohei Ohtani (center) and catcher Yuhei Nakamura are mobbed by their Samurai Japan teammates after Ohtani struck out American slugger Mike Trout to clinch Japan’s third World Baseball Classic and first since 2009, at LoanDepot Park in Miami on March 21.
SPORTS
Dec 26, 2023
Images of 2023: Sports
For some, 2023 was a year of sweet victory, after many years of not making it to the summit. For Shohei Ohtani, it was yet another year of brilliance.
SUMO
Dec 18, 2023
Sumo stablemaster Shikoroyama dies at 60
Shikoroyama made his professional sumo debut from the Izutsu stable, then headed by his father, in 1979.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Sep 21, 2023
Eyes on Atamifuji for possible record at autumn sumo tournament
The 21-year-old wrestler enters Day 12 of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament having won 10 of his first 11 bouts.
Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa with his dog Sunny in Fukuoka
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 9, 2023
Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa: 'It’s better to live without being noticed everywhere.’
A former rikishi, Kazuki Paul Tsuyukusa has swapped his sumo stable for the life of a salaryman.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Sep 6, 2023
Power of ozeki trio on display in muted return of open practice session
The first Yokozuna Deliberation Council sōken training session open to the public in four years has taken place at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
Nadine, a 43-year-old tourist from the U.S., wears a sumo wrestler costume and tries to spar against former sumo wrestler Towanoyama in the sumo ring at Yokozuna Tonkatsu Dosukoi Tanaka in Tokyo in June 30.
SUMO
Jul 23, 2023
Sumo retirees play for laughs from tourists flooding back to Japan
Themed restaurants, including those offering sumo performances, are part of a tourism ecosystem that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hopes will add ¥5 trillion a year to the nation's economy.
Japan Times
CARTOONS / ZERO GRAVITY
May 13, 2023
Roger Dahl on sumo
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Reviews
May 3, 2023
‘Sanctuary’: Bad boy of sumo’s journey doesn’t pack a punch
Centered on a brutish underdog, the Netflix series about professional sumo offers satisfying heft in its action sequences, but its uneven storyline is anticlimactic.
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.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Jan 8, 2023
Recipe: Sumo hot pot
It's said chicken makes for a perfect chanko nabe since the animal usually stands tall on its two feet.
Japan Times
SUMO / Regional Voices: Chubu
Jul 18, 2022
1972 Nagoya Basho a key turning point for foreign sumo wrestlers
The year was pivotal, marking the return of Okinawa to Japan and the normalizing of diplomatic ties between Japan and China.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

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