Russian sumo star arrested in Japan for marijuana

For a joint. Pa-lease. Just bloody ridiculous.

I wonder if he will be treated as equally as Japanese minors, who let us remember, are able to get away with murder. I can see him getting the full punishment of five years however. Just imagine, Japanese mother gets four years for killing her own son, foreign-born Sumo wrestler gets five for a doobie. Unreal. Japan, open your eyes and legalize.

"open your eyes and legalize"

Don't know about legalizing it, but let's have proper punishment for crimes. In Wakanosho's case, a sharp rap on the knuckles should suffice.

Why do suspects always admit their crimes here? If he had kept his mouth shut, it would have been easy to defend this in court. Some body finds his wallet, and turns it in with a joint in it. Too damned easy, for somebody who doesn't like the idea of a gaijin sumo star, to plant it and ruin his career.

Pretty Ridiculous, one joint is not a big deal. I mean, they drink a beer for lunch for crying out loud! Now, consider that Japan had no history of a ban on hemp until 1948, during the U.S. occupation. This ban on marijuana is basically not historically part of Japanese Culture, it is inherited from the U.S. The reasons for the U.S. ban can be debated somewhere else. It probably seemed like a good idea at the time the occupation ended, why encourage drug use. But jailing Paul McCartney for a week served no purpose, not will ending this kid's Sumo career.

Ending this career does serve a purpose...weeding out gaijins from a traditionally Japanese sport.

Seems Japan is done with medal wins and now media has something for 'wide-show' variety to entertain masses.

What an idiot! Why didn't he say he had no idea how it got there? Of course, no-one would have believed him, but if he had stuck to his guns no-one could have proved it was his marijuana, what with the wallet being out of his possession for so long.

It would have been easy to defend had he lost his wallet at Narita! Surely the airport police were using him as a test for those super drug sniffing dogs!

I too wonder why he admitted it so quickly?

Seems Japan is done with medal wins and now media has something for 'wide-show' variety to entertain masses.

Good point some14some. Your one-liners are often right on the mark. Wakanoho lost his wallet in June. They've been saving this story. Medal rush has turned into the medal hush so let's bring up drugs and how all foreigners use them and get people murmuring about that. This is how the rest of the world wins their medals.

Russian sumo star arrested in Japan for marijuana...One of Japan’s highest ranking foreign sumo wrestlers has been arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession

Get real JT. Trying to sensationalise this much? Russian? You mean foreigner? Sumo star? What a joke. Asashoryu, Hakuho, Kotooshu and Ama are stars. The Russian is a new kid on the block and had an apalling tournament last month. Arrested in Japan? You mean where he lives and most of the news here is about?

Japanese fans have made it clear that they have little patience with bad-boy wrestlers.

The article then goes on to talk about Asa; unwritten truth is many Japanese fans have made it clear that they have little patience with foreign wrestlers, and have lost interest in their national sport and focused their myopia elsewhere. Also did you know that Wakanoho was also late one day for his appearance on the summer tour this year?

So play the foreign transgression drama and play it loud. Everybody knows that when you have an in-house issue it's dealt with a lot quieter and is suddenly understandable and forgiveable for We Japanese.

Heh, one of the members of Arashi, the Johnny's jimusho boy band, got busted smoking weed by one of the tabloids a couple of weeks back...I wonder why the wide shows haven't been all over him?

I'm pretty sure on the news this morning, they said they searched his apartment and found a marijuana pipe...

www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=soc_30&k=2008081800959

Cheers KissMint. A bit more info to supplement the outline article provided above. Yeah a pipe was found. Also says the cops waited for him to finish the summer tour before they charged him. (Don't rock the boat, but don't wait too long, get it in there before the Olympics ends I say).

Also he was 19 and so a minor back in June. Usually they don't release their names of minors (even if they're 20 now but underage at the time of the incident), but this case has 'implications for society at large' so they made an exception and published his foreigner name. I'm sure the wacky tobacky and story would never have existed if it were a local boy. But then again, they don't, never have and would never even consider doing that kind of thing.

Who the hell are NHK to talk about punishment for crimes? It's a case of the pot calling the kettle here! NHK did bugger all about the thieves in its company, and personally, I consider thieves a damn site more disgusting than someone who smokes weed! NHK should shut up or put up - where are the millions of yen their executives stole? More to the point - why are those executives still not behind bars?

damn, why he didn't just say that someone planted that stuff in his wallet? deny the charges, they will come in, search his house, find nothing, apologize and leave him alone. He just gave roppongi bad name again. Not that we need, really.

chiba and Youdontknow well said on all counts! "Japanese fans have made it clear that they have little patience with bad-boy wrestlers." It's a case of innocent until proven foreign! And that LDP mouthpiece, NHK, has no business pointing fingers, bunch of crooks.

In 2008, marijuana possession should be decriminalized. As usual, and as in the excited states of amerika, Japan is one of those countries badly in need of a little organic relief! Might just chill everyone down a bit!

There was a talk on the CBC news last week & it is startling as to the number of top rate athlets that are on many forms of drugs, most to boost their ability in the sport.

Only a joint's worth and they treat him as if he's a real hard core criminal. What's worse a joint or isshoubin of sake? Well, at least I can buy shochu seven days a week 365 days a year 24 hours a day here! Maybe slowing some of these people down with some pot might cool down the suicide rate ah!

Weeding out the STRONG Sump players is more like it. "wallet he had lost" so it really wasn't in his possession right. Sounds like a setup to me. What would have stopped someone from putting it inside his wallet? Comeon conspiracy theory written all over it.

Poor errr 'boy'. Getting a carreer ended for such cough understandable crime sucks. Hope he'll learn something from it.

JapanProbe posted an article which said HOW MUCH "weed" he had !! Wakanoho apparently accidentally dropped his wallet on the street in late June, and when a passerby brought the wallet to a police box, officers discovered a suspicious-looking Russian-made cigarette inside it. The cigarette was found to contain 0.368 grams of marijuana, and the alien registration card that was also inside the wallet led the police straight to Wakanoho. When confronted with the evidence, he confessed that he had received the drugs “from a foreigner in Roppongi.”

What will that do for a 370 pound man? Tell me .........PLEASE!!!!!!!!

Bottom line, no matter the amount illegal drugs are illegal drugs. It's good that this country's legal system is in the process of removing a dope fiend from its society. Well done, Japan.

RR

what an idiot!

Maybe-just maybe he wanted to quit and this was the easiest way to do it. Ya know like when a young cop takes an upskirt photo or takes a girls cookies on the train and touches her leg as well. I think they want to quit, but the pressure is to great. "Whadaya mean ya wanna QUIT? Ya can't quit....blahblahblah!!" It is clear that he was a user and not a dealer and a minor too, so he won't get in much trouble-I HOPE!!

At noon today the vernacular news reported "smoking implements" (like a water pipe) were found during a search of Waka no Ho's residence (he lives outside the stable as befits his rank). He appears to be a dedicated pothead.

well the weed explains his dreamy stare at the dojo. Smart move Wakanoho!

The case came to light when the wrestler’s wallet containing a Russian-made cigarette and his alien registration card was handed in to police after he lost it on a street.

What is really funny or strange is that people on this board do not see this kind of detail. Surely it must be a strange behavior in western countries.

Rodney King

Only you think that behavior is strange. Eveyone on this board knows that in Japan it is common for Japanese to turn in lost wallets and purse to the Police or train authorities. Just as common as rain around here.

It does get frustrating to see all the crimes that the J-satsu are too afraid to tackle, and at the same time see their fervor in taking down the dreaded weedsmokers.

It's good that this country's legal system is in the process of removing a dope fiend from its society.

No, what would be good is if we could get rid of the clueless idiots who think that there is such a thing as a dope fiend when it comes to marijuana.

Surely it must be a strange behavior in western countries.

Yes. I usually try to find the owner and hand it to them myself. We don't trust cops in the west. If they are not trying to get your for pick-pocketing in such a situation, they are trying to nail the other guy for little MJ. Its too bad the cops could not be satisfied with the ID card, and had to go through the whole darned wallet.

At noon today the vernacular news reported "smoking implements" (like a water pipe) were found during a search of Waka no Ho's residence (he lives outside the stable as befits his rank). He appears to be a dedicated pothead.

You probably have no idea what is smoked in a hookah. Until the ash in the burn bowl is examined, or he admits to using it for marijuana, you have no business assuming its weed.

Read my post　on the other thread related to this one.

Read my post　on the other thread related to this one.

You don't know what was smoked in the pipes or even where it was smoked. Just because the pipes are at JSA property proves niether.

However, he has admitted to possession (if he knew what was in those Russion cigs, and we don't know he did). This is enough for JSA to let him go. But that is not to say that I agree with them in doing. They have the right, but they are still wrong in my opinion.

The pipes the found were not ordinary pipes but specially used for MJ. If you know MJ you would know it can't be used in standard pipes.

Like I said above or in another threat he didn't get kicked just for the MJ but for his overall record.

He was a fast riser that thought he could do as he likes and needed to be cut down, previous measure didn't do it so this was the opportunity for the JSA.

He was a trouble maker from　his record.