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158760
Wed, 02/02/2011 - 17:24
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Sumo: JSA Chair Hanaregoma says he can't confirm match fixing
TOKYO, Feb. 2 Kyodo - Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hanaregoma said on Wednesday he could not confirm the existence of alleged match fixing after questioning 12 people over cellphone text messages that appear to imply that bouts have been rigged.
The JSA, which called a hastily arranged emergency meeting at Ryogoku Kokugikan to question those involved, has set up a special inquiry to get to the bottom of the allegations.
Sumo's governing body said the independent panel, which was to have its first meeting Wednesday evening, will consist of seven notable figures from outside sumo.
''We questioned each person one by one, but we weren't able to confirm any conclusive evidence of this. We could not verify if the facts are true or not,'' said Hanaregoma, who promised to severely punish those involved if such revelations are validated.
He also apologized to sumo fans for yet another scandal in the national sport, saying, ''I feel great indignation and sorrow. I want to apologize to fans from the bottom of my heart.''
Sumo elders questioned 12 of the 13 people suspected of match-fixing, including makuuchi wrestler Shotenro and lower-tier wrestler Yamamotoyama and sumo elder Takenawa, who retired as Kasuganishiki after the New Year meet in January.
Premier division wrestlers Koryu and Toyozakura were also summoned along with second-tier juryo grapplers Kyokunankai, Wakatenro and Kiyoseumi. One person was unavailable to attend as he was out of town.
Of the 13, juryo-division wrestlers Chiyohakuho and Kiyoseumi as well as sumo elder Takenawa have admitted to gambling on pro baseball. Lower-tier wrestlers Shirononami and Enatsukasa are also at the center of the match-fixing probe.
''This problem shakes the very foundation of our sport. We will hold a strict investigation, and if it is the case that this is confirmed to be true, we will severely punish those involved,'' Hanaregoma said.
Cellphones belonging to sumo elder Takenawa and wrestler Chiyohakuho were confiscated by police with text messages that suggest match fixing. Sources said that the names of sumo elder Tanigawa and wrestler Toyozakura also were mentioned in records.
In the past, testimonies of several people related to the sumo world and magazine reports have often pointed to the existence of sumo match-fixing among active sumo wrestlers, but the sumo association has consistently denied such a practice.
Last October, the Supreme Court upheld two high court decisions ordering publishing house Kodansha Ltd. and its writers to pay a total of about 44 million yen in damages to the sumo association and three retired wrestlers over reports alleging match-fixing in Kodansha's weekly magazine Shukan Gendai.
Despite these previous testimonies, Hanaregoma said the problem of bout-rigging has never existed in the sport.
''We have never had this problem before. I understand this as being something new,'' he said.
Dozens of messages contained the names of two sumo elders and 11 wrestlers. They also included ways of fixing bouts and contained several figures that seem to indicate wins or losses that were routinely bought and sold for several hundred thousand yen per bout.
The Metropolitan Police Department suspects that the wrestlers may have actually fixed matches, but are unlikely to build a criminal case on the findings as no law bans match-fixing in Japan and no evidence indicates that anyone gambled on the bouts or that gangsters were involved, the sources said.
The police found the messages on the phones of Chiyohakuho and Takenawa. Some of them read, ''I'll bump directly into (my opponent)'' and ''20, 30, 50, 75,'' probably indicating an amount of money, the sources said.
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Yoshiaki Takagi instructed the JSA to investigate the matter after his ministry received dozens of records from the police through the National Police Agency.
In the gambling scandal that surfaced in May 2010, four people, including former wrestlers of the Onomatsu stable, were arrested last week on suspicion of organizing illegal gambling on pro baseball games, and a total of 39 sumo members have filed written reports with the police admitting their involvement.
The cellphones that offered the latest findings are among items the police confiscated in July last year when they searched sumo stables and dozens of other places for evidence in the gambling case. The police have since analyzed the contents and records and have even restored deleted messages.
One of the texts of the two cellphones belonging to Chiyohakuho and Takenawa read, ''For 20 more I will concede. After the meet, I need to make at least 50 or I'll really be in serious trouble,'' sources said.
The two sent and received at least 46 texts between March and June of last year. The texts reveal a total of 13 names, including owners of the phones, the wrestlers and sumo elders.
''Who am I indebted to? I only have to loan out to Koryu and Yamamotoyama, right?'' said one text.
The list of 13 includes 11 people whose names are mentioned in the texts.
They are: sumo elder Tanigawa, formerly wrestler Kaiho, makuuchi wrestlers Shotenro, Shimotori, Koryu and Toyozakura and juryo grapplers Kyokunankai, Wakatenro and Kiyoseumi. Shirononami and Yamamotoyama are from the makushita third tier while Enatsukasa is in the sandanme fourth division.
The JSA, which called a hastily arranged emergency meeting at Ryogoku Kokugikan to question those involved, has set up a special inquiry to get to the bottom of the allegations.
Sumo's governing body said the independent panel, which was to have its first meeting Wednesday evening, will consist of seven notable figures from outside sumo.
''We questioned each person one by one, but we weren't able to confirm any conclusive evidence of this. We could not verify if the facts are true or not,'' said Hanaregoma, who promised to severely punish those involved if such revelations are validated.
He also apologized to sumo fans for yet another scandal in the national sport, saying, ''I feel great indignation and sorrow. I want to apologize to fans from the bottom of my heart.''
Sumo elders questioned 12 of the 13 people suspected of match-fixing, including makuuchi wrestler Shotenro and lower-tier wrestler Yamamotoyama and sumo elder Takenawa, who retired as Kasuganishiki after the New Year meet in January.
Premier division wrestlers Koryu and Toyozakura were also summoned along with second-tier juryo grapplers Kyokunankai, Wakatenro and Kiyoseumi. One person was unavailable to attend as he was out of town.
Of the 13, juryo-division wrestlers Chiyohakuho and Kiyoseumi as well as sumo elder Takenawa have admitted to gambling on pro baseball. Lower-tier wrestlers Shirononami and Enatsukasa are also at the center of the match-fixing probe.
''This problem shakes the very foundation of our sport. We will hold a strict investigation, and if it is the case that this is confirmed to be true, we will severely punish those involved,'' Hanaregoma said.
Cellphones belonging to sumo elder Takenawa and wrestler Chiyohakuho were confiscated by police with text messages that suggest match fixing. Sources said that the names of sumo elder Tanigawa and wrestler Toyozakura also were mentioned in records.
In the past, testimonies of several people related to the sumo world and magazine reports have often pointed to the existence of sumo match-fixing among active sumo wrestlers, but the sumo association has consistently denied such a practice.
Last October, the Supreme Court upheld two high court decisions ordering publishing house Kodansha Ltd. and its writers to pay a total of about 44 million yen in damages to the sumo association and three retired wrestlers over reports alleging match-fixing in Kodansha's weekly magazine Shukan Gendai.
Despite these previous testimonies, Hanaregoma said the problem of bout-rigging has never existed in the sport.
''We have never had this problem before. I understand this as being something new,'' he said.
Dozens of messages contained the names of two sumo elders and 11 wrestlers. They also included ways of fixing bouts and contained several figures that seem to indicate wins or losses that were routinely bought and sold for several hundred thousand yen per bout.
The Metropolitan Police Department suspects that the wrestlers may have actually fixed matches, but are unlikely to build a criminal case on the findings as no law bans match-fixing in Japan and no evidence indicates that anyone gambled on the bouts or that gangsters were involved, the sources said.
The police found the messages on the phones of Chiyohakuho and Takenawa. Some of them read, ''I'll bump directly into (my opponent)'' and ''20, 30, 50, 75,'' probably indicating an amount of money, the sources said.
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Yoshiaki Takagi instructed the JSA to investigate the matter after his ministry received dozens of records from the police through the National Police Agency.
In the gambling scandal that surfaced in May 2010, four people, including former wrestlers of the Onomatsu stable, were arrested last week on suspicion of organizing illegal gambling on pro baseball games, and a total of 39 sumo members have filed written reports with the police admitting their involvement.
The cellphones that offered the latest findings are among items the police confiscated in July last year when they searched sumo stables and dozens of other places for evidence in the gambling case. The police have since analyzed the contents and records and have even restored deleted messages.
One of the texts of the two cellphones belonging to Chiyohakuho and Takenawa read, ''For 20 more I will concede. After the meet, I need to make at least 50 or I'll really be in serious trouble,'' sources said.
The two sent and received at least 46 texts between March and June of last year. The texts reveal a total of 13 names, including owners of the phones, the wrestlers and sumo elders.
''Who am I indebted to? I only have to loan out to Koryu and Yamamotoyama, right?'' said one text.
The list of 13 includes 11 people whose names are mentioned in the texts.
They are: sumo elder Tanigawa, formerly wrestler Kaiho, makuuchi wrestlers Shotenro, Shimotori, Koryu and Toyozakura and juryo grapplers Kyokunankai, Wakatenro and Kiyoseumi. Shirononami and Yamamotoyama are from the makushita third tier while Enatsukasa is in the sandanme fourth division.
