Match-fixing in professional sumo
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Match-fixing in professional sumo is an allegation that has plagued
professional sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
for decades. Due to the amount of money changing hands depending on rank and prize money, there had been numerous reports of (corruption, bout-fixing) in professional sumo for years before it was finally definitively proven to exist in 2011. The hierarchical structure of the sport, in which a minority of top-ranked wrestlers have great advantages in salary, privileges, and status over the lower-ranked wrestlers that make up the majority of sumo participants, may have contributed to the use of match-fixing in order to prolong careers for top-ranked wrestlers and assist in the distribution of promotions.


Previous speculation

In 2002,
Steven Levitt Steven David Levitt (born May 29, 1967) is an American economist and co-author of the best-selling book ''Freakonomics'' and its sequels (along with Stephen J. Dubner). Levitt was the winner of the 2003 John Bates Clark Medal for his work in the ...
and Mark Duggan published a paper using
econometrics Econometrics is the application of Statistics, statistical methods to economic data in order to give Empirical evidence, empirical content to economic relationships.M. Hashem Pesaran (1987). "Econometrics," ''The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of ...
in order to suggest that corruption in sumo exists. Popularized in Levitt's book ''
Freakonomics ''Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything'' is the debut non-fiction book by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and ''New York Times'' journalist Stephen J. Dubner. Published on April 12, 2005, by Will ...
'', the study found that 70% of wrestlers with 7–7 records on the final day of the tournament (i.e., seven wins and seven losses, and one fight to go) won. The percentage was found to rise the more times the two wrestlers had met, and decrease when the wrestler was due to retire. The study found that the 7–7 wrestlers won around 80% of the time when statistics suggest they had a probability of winning only 48.7% of the time against their opponents. Like Benjamin, the authors concluded that those who already have 8 wins collude with those who are 7–7 and let them win, since the 8-win wrestlers had already secured their ranking. A possible counter-argument to the ''Freakonomics'' conclusion is that a 7–7 "rikishi" (sumo wrestler) was highly motivated to win his last match to gain promotion, rather than demotion, while the 8–6 rikishi had already guaranteed his promotion, so was not as motivated. The authors revealed a more damning statistic, however. According to their research, the next tournament in which the two wrestlers met, there was a significant advantage to the 8–6 wrestler over the 7–7, regardless of the performance of either wrestler. The previously 7–7 wrestler would win only 40% percent of the rematches with the 8–6 wrestler. The authors suggested that winning 80% in the first match and then only 40% in the rematch (and back to the expected 50% in subsequent matches) between the same wrestlers suggested a rigging of the bouts. Additionally, the authors found that after allegations of rigging by the media, 7–7 wrestlers won only 50% of their matches against 8–6 wrestlers instead of 80%.


Previous allegations

When the former sumo wrestler Kōnoshin Suga, also known as Onaruto stablemaster, and his supporter Seiichiro Hashimoto came forward with allegations of match rigging, drug use, sexcapades, tax evasion, and close ties to the
Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...
, both were found dead in the same hospital, hours apart on April 14, 1996, though there was no proof of poisoning. Weekly tabloid ''
Shūkan Gendai is a general-interest weekly magazine published in Tokyo, Japan. History and profile ''Shūkan Gendai'' was started in 1959. The magazine has its headquarters in Tokyo. It is published by Kodansha, the largest publishing house in Japan, which co ...
'' alleged in a series of articles in the 1980s and 1990s that bouts were fixed.Martin, Alex, and Mizuho Aoki,
Are fixed bouts final nail in sumo coffin?
, ''
Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
'', February 4, 2011, p. 2.
In 2000, in both speeches and a tell-all book, former wrestler
Keisuke Itai was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Usuki, Oita, Japan. His highest rank was ''komusubi''. He held the record for most consecutive victories from entry into sumo for several years before it was broken by Jōkōryū in 2012. After his retiremen ...
stated that up to 80% of sumo bouts were fixed. In 2007, ''
Shūkan Gendai is a general-interest weekly magazine published in Tokyo, Japan. History and profile ''Shūkan Gendai'' was started in 1959. The magazine has its headquarters in Tokyo. It is published by Kodansha, the largest publishing house in Japan, which co ...
'' reported that ''
yokozuna , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...
'' Asashōryū had been paying wrestlers to throw matches to him. A court later ordered
Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
, the journal's publisher, to pay ¥44 million to the
Japan Sumo Association The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling (called ''Ōzumō'', 大相撲) in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). ''Rikishi'' (active ...
over the allegations. In September 2008, Wakanohō, a wrestler who had been expelled for cannabis use, claimed he was forced to accept bribes to forfeit sumo matches. He implicated '' ōzeki'' Kotoōshū, then ''jūryō'' wrestler
Kasuganishiki Kasuganishiki Takahiro (born August 22, 1975 as Takahiro Suzuki) is a former sumo wrestler from Misaki, Isumi District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He made his debut in 1991, reaching the top makuuchi division in 2002. His highest rank was ''maegas ...
and later ''ōzeki'' Kaiō and Chiyotaikai. He would later retract these claims, but then changed his position in 2011 yet again, when definitive allegations of match-fixing came to light.


2011 investigation

In February 2011, Japan's
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...
and
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announced that an investigation into allegations of baseball gambling by sumo wrestlers and officials had discovered cell phone text messages indicating that some matches had been fixed. Allegedly, 14 wrestlers or stablemasters were involved. Three wrestlers, Chiyohakuhō,
Kasuganishiki Kasuganishiki Takahiro (born August 22, 1975 as Takahiro Suzuki) is a former sumo wrestler from Misaki, Isumi District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He made his debut in 1991, reaching the top makuuchi division in 2002. His highest rank was ''maegas ...
(who had recently retired to become a coach under the elder name Takenawa), and Enatsukasa, reportedly admitted to throwing or fixing bouts. As a result of the independent investigation, the board of directors of the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) decided in an extraordinary meeting to cancel the March 2011 tournament in Osaka. The last time a Grand Tournament had been canceled was in 1946, when repairs to the old
Ryōgoku Kokugikan , also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The fist ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the lands of the Ekōin temple in Ry ...
, which had been extensively damaged in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, were not completed in time. Also, a regional exhibition tournament in
Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its ge ...
on August 8, 2011, was cancelled. In the end, 23 wrestlers in total were judged guilty of match-fixing and all were expelled. The JSA's investigative panel stated in May 2011 that match-fixing appears to have been widespread. The panel stated that it would be difficult to discover, however, the full extent of the problem. Uncovering the problem is made even more difficult by the existence of a separate form of collusion ("koi ni yoru mukiryoku-zumo" in Japanese, meaning deliberate lack of effort in a sumo bout), which refers to a rikishi going lightly on an opponent without the exchange of money. In sumo culture especially, individual gain must be subordinated to the rights of the group, meaning that certain wrestlers have appeared duty-bound by their organization's style to help popular or senior wrestlers in need. The wrestlers not listed above who admitted to match-fixing and accepted expulsion are as follows: Asōfuji,
Hakuba is a village located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 9,007 in 4267 households, and a population density of 48 persons per km2. The total area of the village is . Hakuba is an internationally renowned ...
, Hoshihikari, Kasugaō,
Kiyoseumi Kiyoseumi Takayuki (born Takayuki Ichihara, 16 August 1984) is a former sumo wrestler from Nagoya, Japan. An extremely successful amateur, his highest rank in the professional sport was ''maegashira'' 13. He was forced to retire in April 2011 af ...
, Kirinowaka, Kōryū, Kotokasuga, Kyokunankai, Masatsukasa, Mōkonami,
Sakaizawa Sakaizawa Kenichi (born 11 April 1983 as Kenichi Sakaizawa) is a former sumo wrestler from Saitama, Saitama, Saitama, Japan. He made his professional debut in March 2006, and reached the Makuuchi, top division in March 2008. His highest rank was ' ...
, Shimotori, Shirononami, Tokusegawa,
Toyozakura Toyozakura Toshiaki (born March 12, 1974 as Toshiaki Mukō) is a former sumo wrestler from Hiroshima, Japan. He made his debut in 1989, and after many years in the lower ranks he reached the top division for the first time in 2003. His highest ra ...
, Wakatenro, and Yamamotoyama. Two more wrestlers, Sōkokurai and Hoshikaze never admitted any involvement and were forcibly expelled several days later. Sōkokurai was later exonerated and reinstated. See below for more information.


Policies to combat match-fixing

Soon after the match-fixing scandal, in March 2011, an 8-member committee commissioned by the JSA put forth six recommendations, later expanded to eight, for preventing future match-fixing: # Strengthening the investigative panel. # A system of regulations for conduct in dressing rooms (where much of the match-fixing collusion was alleged to have taken place) as well as strengthening of existing regulations. # Establishing a hotline for anonymous reporting of match-fixing. # Adopting expanded regulations for disciplining of wrestlers for intentional "lethargic sumo" (a long used euphemism for letting one's opponent win). # Guidance and training for stable owners. # Guidance and education for wrestlers. # Considering the establishment of new system exempting wrestlers on injured leave from pay deduction or demotion (this was an acknowledgement that the pressure of being demoted and losing significant salary after injury was a contributing factor in many cases of match-fixing). # Consideration of a policy to encourage a resurgence in competitive spirit in sumo.


Court cases

Two of the wrestlers implicated by the JSA, Hoshikaze and Sōkokurai, never admitted any wrongdoing and were expelled when they refused to submit resignation papers. Both wrestlers, in separate cases took the JSA to court. Hoshikaze lost his court case in May 2012 and an appeal was denied in October of that year, with a final appeal also denied in October 2013. Sōkokurai succeeded in his case, and the JSA decided not to appeal. Sōkokurai was reinstated and re-appeared on the ''
banzuke A , officially called is a document listing the rankings of professional sumo wrestlers published before each official tournament (''honbasho''). The term can also refer to the rankings themselves. The document is normally released about two w ...
'' for the July 2013 tournament with his prior rank restored.


See also

*
Controversies in professional sumo Professional sumo has had several controversies over its long history. These include proven allegations of match-fixing to hazing. Match-fixing Due to the hierarchical structure of the sport, where top ranked wrestlers have great advantages in ...
*
2011 in sumo The following are the events in professional sumo during 2011. Tournaments *Hatsu basho, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, 9 January – 23 January *Haru basho, Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka, 13 March – 27 March (cancelled) *Natsu basho, Ryogoku ...


References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em Sumo
Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...