Editorial
Sumo association should take strict action against Asashoryu
Yokozuna Asashoryu has come under fire again over a scandal. The top-ranking sumo wrestler hit an acquaintance in the predawn hours of Jan. 16 while he was drunk, leaving the victim with serious injuries that are expected to take a month to heal. The incident occurred during the January tournament, which he won.
A spokesman for Asashoryu initially explained that the wrestler assaulted his personal manager and did not inflict any injury. Takasago, master of the stable to which Asashoryu belongs, apparently provided a similar explanation to Japan Sumo Association Chairman Musashigawa.
However, it turned out after the tournament that the yokozuna assaulted an ordinary citizen, not an insider, and left the victim with severe injuries. It may develop into a crime case. If Asashoryu provided a false explanation in a bid to cover up the fact that he injured an ordinary citizen, the incident would be far more vicious. It appears unlikely that stablemaster Takasago was actively involved in the cover-up, but he cannot evade responsibility for the case as the wrestler's boss.
The incident reportedly occurred at around 4 a.m. One cannot help being astonished at the fact that the yokozuna was out drinking during a tournament. The incident has raised questions about whether he was regularly drinking late even during tournaments, his relations with the victim and why a false report was filed with the Japan Sumo Association.
Three years ago, Asashoryu was hit with an unprecedentedly strict punitive measure as a yokozuna. He was suspended from two consecutive tournaments and slapped with a 30 percent pay cut after it came to light that he had skipped a summer regional tour and returned to Mongolia on the pretext of receiving treatment of his injuries but actually played soccer in his home country. Stablemaster Takasago also got a pay cut for his poor supervision of the wrestler and declined to be re-elected a member of the association's board the following year.
Asashoryu has since been involved in a series of scandals that have raised questions about his qualifications as a yokozuna.
"The association is too lenient toward Asashoryu," says scriptwriter Makiko Uchidate, who stepped down as a member of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council on Jan. 25 and has been a longtime critic of Asashoryu.
"As a yokozuna, I will do my best to contribute to the development of sumo," Asashoryu told a messenger who visited him to notify that he would be promoted to the top rank of sumo seven years ago.
One cannot help but wonder whether the yokozuna and his boss who listened to his message forgot his resolution.
The campaign for the biennial election of the Japan Sumo Association board is under way. Board members were elected without a vote in the past three elections. However, voting will be held for the first time since 2002 because 11 candidates are vying for its 10 seats. The new board's ability to deal with the incident will be tested immediately after its inauguration on Monday.
(Mainichi Japan) January 30, 2010