Japan's Sumo Stumbles – Searching for Answers in Two-Thousand-Year-Old Lessons

TOKYO July 30, 2008— -- The world of sumo is a violent one, but it has zero tolerance for the bullying abuse of its young trainees. That is the message the Japan Sumo Association has delivered to the Japanese government last week.

Toshimitsu Kitanoumi, a former sumo grand champion who is now the chairman of the association, said the group will try to eliminate physical assaults and abuse from Japan's ancient sport and tradition.

Public attention started with last year's death of 17-year-old sumo wrestler Takashi Saito. After spending a few months at a sumo stable, Saito, who was given a ring name of "Tokitaizan," complained about the severity of the training and repeatedly tried to run away.

In at least one case, Saito apparently fled the stable and returned home. But his parents convinced him to return. The parents had no clue about what their son was going through under the name of training.

"I thought my son was safe with that master and the stable," Masato Saito said in tears at a news conference after the death of his son. "I wish I told him to drop everything and come home."

One night in June last year, Saito was caught by a group of senior wrestlers outside a convenience store as he tried to flee again, according to a police report cited in Japanese media. The report said the older wrestlers dragged Saito back for a "special" session. Saito was repeatedly kicked, struck with an aluminum bat and beer bottles until he collapsed, the police report said. The cause of death was listed as physical trauma.

This fatal assault resulted in the arrest of the stable master, Junichi Yamamoto, and three sumo wrestlers. The Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that Yamamoto told the police he never instructed the wrestlers to physically torture Saito. NHK also reported that the three wrestlers told the police they acted solely on Yamamoto's command when Yamamoto told them to "take care of" Saito.

Despite the outcry over Saito's death, additional incidents of abusive treatment of young wrestlers were occurred, heightening the public's concern about what's going on inside sumo stables. The sumo association set up a review board to prevent future incidents.