Sumo: Probe launched on top-ranked wrestlers in match-fixing scandal+

TOKYO, Feb. 8 Kyodo -
A special panel investigating a match-fixing scandal launched a probe Tuesday
targeting sumo wrestlers in the top two divisions as it seeks to uncover more
answers in the biggest crisis to hit the national sport.
Estonian ozeki Baruto, who is among four holding sumo's second-highest rank,
was one of the high-profile wrestlers questioned by the panel, following the
Japan Sumo Association's decision Sunday to cancel the Spring Grand Sumo
Tournament next month.
''This is really a shame. There were a lot of fans who were looking forward to
the spring meet,'' said Baruto, who was promoted to ozeki at the Osaka meet
last year.
''I will continue to train as if I were going to wrestle at the Osaka basho.
Everyone is fighting hard. I am also working out to put on a good
performance,'' he said.
The investigative panel said that of the 14 whose names surfaced in cellphone
text messages, four have been confirmed as having taken part in match-fixing
schemes. Those summoned before the panel were also asked to bring their mobile
phones and bank passbooks for examination.
Additional staff has been added to question 70 wrestlers in the makuuchi and
juryo divisions and the panel plans to wrap up the interviews this week.
''We want full disclosure. We want those questioned to answer honestly,'' said
JSA Chairman Hanaregoma.
The JSA said it will hold another board meeting and a briefing for sumo coaches
at Rygoku Kokugikan on Wednesday.
Facing the first cancellation of a meet in 65 years, they are likely to discuss
how to handle new recruits as well as changes to the sumo rankings and payment
allowances, a factor that apparently motivated some wresters to rig matches.
''We might have to rethink the sumo rankings,'' said Hanaregoma, referring to
the ''banzuke'' that had already been determined after the New Year meet in
January.
Meanwhile, sports minister Yoshiaki Takaki requested that all 14 implicated in
the scandal cooperate with investigators after learning that some under
suspicion may have broken or changed mobile phones that are supposed to be
submitted to the panel.
''We hope those involved will squarely answer questions, so we can have the
earliest full-scale disclosure of the facts,'' Takaki said.
''Everyone in sumo circles aspires for the best and has worked hard to develop
sumo. Sumo is in crisis. I hope that everyone can return to their roots and
make a fresh start,'' he said.
Takaki, however, denied that the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology is considering recruiting a chairman from outside the
sumo world, as some media reports have suggested.
''The sumo association is its own entity. Its independence and autonomy should
be respected. This is not a discussion about telling the sumo world to do this
or that from the outside,'' he said.
Also on Tuesday, senior vice sports minister Kan Suzuki praised what he
described as a quick response by JSA executives but referred to the possibility
that an administrative measure may be taken against the association depending
on how the probe is conducted.
''Whether JSA members cooperate with the executive board decisively will
determine which direction we should take,'' Suzuki told Kyodo News, noting that
an administrative order may be issued urging the sumo body to improve its
operations within a certain period of time.
In a separate meeting, a JSA committee, which is examining sumo's status to be
authorized as a public interest foundation, decided to hold off on the debate
until the investigation into the scandal has concluded.
Sumo currently receives benefits from the government and special tax breaks,
but it could lose its status as a public entity.
According to Takehisa Fukazawa, an independent member of the committee
examining sumo's public status, the application for authorization could be
postponed this year.
==Kyodo
2011-02-08 23:32:48