Sumo plagued by violence in scandal-tainted year

A whole 15 minutes for anti-violence training! What commitment. No, really, what commitment?

Still subsidsed by the tax payer, why?

I disagree that any of these issues overshadowed the triumphs of Tochinoshin, Mitakeumi, or Takakeisho. If you don't care about or follow Sumo, the scandals might have been more to your attention, but to us fans, the victories were far more noteworthy.

I disagree that any of these issues overshadowed the triumphs of Tochinoshin, Mitakeumi, or Takakeisho. If you don't care about or follow Sumo, the scandals might have been more to your attention, but to us fans, the victories were far more noteworthy.

I was a huge fan for nearly 20 years and cared an awful lot about the sport and many of the wrestlers. I defended it against critics for years. But at this point, after years of constant scandal, I've concluded that it needs to be blown up and remade. I used to watch it with my young daughter and regularly attend basho, but this past year was the tipping point. That the sport's destructive practices and outdated views receive state-sponsorship make them all the more repellent. If the government can't properly regulate it, then it doesn't deserve my support.

Diego3: I disagree that any of these issues overshadowed the triumphs of Tochinoshin, Mitakeumi, or Takakeisho."

You're right, not "any", but ALL. Sumo is a disgrace, and it deserves to die out. No one can take it seriously anymore, and it should not be given any funding by the government whatsoever.

I started watching when it was Takahanada/Wakahanada, and I loved it. But I wonder, was such behaviour going on behind closed doors back then? Are these current problems merely the same as things have always been? Are current wrestlers being punished for what they have always been a part of? If you join a society in which, e.g. bullying has been the norm, then how can you expect current wrestlers to be against what they have been raised to accept? In a nutshell, what we see today could easily be the result of their own superiors' behaviour.