Whither Sumo?

The big news rocking the sumo world today is that NHK, the national broadcaster of Japan, will not be broadcasting the Nagoya Basho live. Not long after a baseball gambling scandal had been revealed did NHK threaten this course of action, but they waited until this week--just days before the start--to announce it. Looking back at how events unfolded, NHK’s late announcement and decision to cancel are quite understandable.

In May, the tabloid Shukan Shincho first published allegations that Kotomitsuki had broken the law by gambling on baseball, allegations that the ozeki denied. The scandal did not gain traction until the middle of June, when news surfaced that Kotomitsuki had admitted to betting on games. Over the course of the Japan Sumo Association’s investigation, 29 more members of the sumo community admitted betting on baseball, with a further 36 admitting to what were described as more minor forms of gambling, such as mah-jongg. In the same article it was reported that Kotomitsuki had also been threatened with extortion by yakuza seeking hush money regarding his gambling activities.

The fallout came fast and furious with talk of cancelling the basho, followed by sponsors pulling out, and NHK raising the possibility that they would not broadcast the event if it proceeded. This was the crucial week for the JSA, and their ability to manage the crisis would determine NHK’s next move. As we now know, the JSA gave NHK no valid reason to broadcast the basho.

In an Asahi News article that neatly laid out how the yakuza penetrated the sumo world, the JSA stated that

Wrestlers believed that betting was conducted only among themselves. They did not think that illegal betting was operated by gangster organizations.

Such a naive self-serving statement not only called the judgement of the JSA into question, but appeared to fool no one, least of all the Asahi’s yakuza informant,

Only gangster organizations operate baseball-gambling rackets. The sumo wrestlers should know that.

Let’s see, gambling on baseball games is banned in Japan, the wrestlers were laying large sums on the games... What legitimate operation would be willing and able to underwrite such an activity? It beggars belief that the JSA would claim that their wrestlers did not know the yakuza were involved. 

The Asahi also reported that when an outsider was appointed to serve as the JSA’s interim chairman during Musashigawa’s single basho suspension, there was a faction that sought to prevent independent oversight. This action is unsurprising given Musashigawa’s belief that he shouldn’t resign until he has had a chance to fix things:

Musashigawa had at one point on July 3 suggested he may resign. However, at the press conference on July 4, he suggested he would stay on for a while yet, saying, "I will gladly step down as soon as I can help the JSA to start over on a new track." July 5, Mainichi

As of this writing (July 6), the only two people in this scandal to receive any punishment of consequence have been Kotomitsuki and stablemaster Otake, who were dismissed on Sunday. Despite accepting a third party panel’s recommendations for a series of punishments to others involved, the three events outlined above suggest that the JSA is avoiding full accountability for this deep seated problem, hoping that they can survive the news cycle without making any major changes in their governance structure. Until they admit to their underworld connections, they will not be able to sever ties with the yakuza. Until their leaders take full responsibility for the scandal rather than scapegoat two offenders, there will be no regaining of public trust in the sport. Seen in this light, NHK did the only thing they could by cancelling live coverage of the event. Hopefully the symbolic import of this message will not be lost on the JSA.

When I wrote What’s Next for Sumo in May, I failed to identify Baruto as the legitimate yokozuna threat that he has become. Little did I know how that mistake would pale in comparison to the off-dohyo scandal that has done more to damage sumo than anything Asashoryu ever did. What’s next for sumo now? Who can say?