Concern over work-related deaths among Japanese expats
A Japanese man's death by suicide during an overseas job assignment is focusing attention on the wellbeing of employees sent abroad.
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Japan Times
30 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Hakuho's departure highlights worrying sumo trend
With the Japan Sumo Association accepting former yokozuna Hakuho's resignation this week, only four of the 10 most recently retired grand champions remain part of the sport's governing body. While that quartet may have won a combined total of 30 Emperor's Cups during their active days, the six that departed accounted for 117 — almost four times as many. It's a significant loss of high level experience and one that hurts sumo's efforts to both find and keep young talent in the sport. And even though many former yokozuna have left professional sumo over the past two decades, Hakuho's resignation is the biggest blow of all. He is not just the most decorated wrestler in the history of the sport — by a significant margin — but was also a major recruiter of talent dating back to the Mongolian native's days as an active wrestler. His namesake event, the Hakuho Cup, has over the past decade and a half grown into arguably the most important sumo tournament in the world for elementary and junior high school children. In addition to being a major milestone and motivator for numerous current rikishi, including newly promoted yokozuna Onosato, the Hakuho Cup has provided invaluable experience for children from numerous countries across the globe and served as a link between international amateur sumo and ōzumō. Now with Hakuho's resignation from the JSA — the organization that provided the venue for most editions of the Hakuho Cup — the future of the tournament is unclear. And even if reports already surfacing about the former yokozuna's intentions to create a new international professional sumo organization are true, the scale of that challenge is enormous, with all previous attempts to do so having crashed and burned in short order. Several other prominent ōzumō stars expressed similar intentions after retiring, but the logistics and financial obstacles, as well as the fractured and highly politicized nature of international sumo, proved too great to overcome. Hakuho speaks at the 2023 edition of the Hakuho Cup at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in February 2023. | John Gunning Regardless of what transpires over the next few years, Hakuho leaving the JSA is a blow to ōzumō, and part of an unfortunate trend among recent yokozuna. However, before positing possible solutions to the situation, it must be remembered that in each individual case the circumstances behind the separation were unique. It would be a mistake to try and portray the aforementioned six men as victims of some grand conspiracy. Even so, there are certainly enough commonalities to provide food for thought. Straight off the bat, it's obvious that wrestlers who exerted total dominance over the opposition inside the ring often chafed at sumo's strict rules and norms throughout their careers, finding themselves chastised on multiple occasions. But official censure — or condemnation by the media — is easier to handle when you are top of the world and raking in trophies and prize money. It's a completely different situation when the limelight and all the perks are suddenly gone and you now find yourself on the lowest rung of a new hierarchy. For men such as Akebono, the Hanada brothers and Hakuho, sumo is all they knew from a young age. There were few, if any, opportunities to develop the kind of skills and mechanisms needed to cope with the emotional turmoil that comes from such a sudden shift. Every professional athlete undergoes something akin to grief when their career comes to an end, and the feeling of helplessness tends to be stronger the higher they soared when active. What sets sumo apart, and makes the adjustment even harder, is the rigid nature of life post-retirement. For those who acquire elder name stock and choose to remain with the JSA as coaches or stablemasters, there is still little freedom in how they choose to live their lives day to day. It's no surprise that bleached hair and tattoos are often the first step for former rikishi — especially those with 'rebellious' personalities — once they leave the JSA. Hakuho is the most decorated wrestler in the history of sumo by a significant margin. | John Gunning Imagine how tough it must be to join professional sumo at 15, fight and claw your way to the very top over the course of a decade or more, all while sacrificing the freedoms and experiences that people in their twenties normally enjoy, only to find yourself at the bottom of another 30-year-long ladder. Life is also very different in the 21st century than when yokozuna like Asahifuji, Onokuni and Hokutoumi retired in the early 1990s. Globalization and the internet have combined to lay out a whole range of tantalizing alternatives for well-off former star athletes. Of course, life as a stablemaster provides a certain amount of stability and can be a very comfortable existence that meets the needs of many ex-rikishi. For uber-high-profile men such as Takanohana or Hakuho, however, there are always other options and their willingness to stay and fight various battles within the framework of JSA structures can reach a breaking point. Regardless of who might have been right or wrong in each individual case, the result has been the same. Sumo's biggest names in recent history have chosen to follow paths outside of the sport. That's a problem, and one without easy answers that may require some innovative thinking to overcome. Despite the latest departure, the JSA will continue to survive and thrive, and the former yokozuna likewise may discover exciting new opportunities. That doesn't mean both sides wouldn't have been better off by finding a solution to outstanding issues, however, and it's hard to argue that sumo hasn't been lessened without its most decorated champion. Hakuho is gone, but for the sake of the sport's future, sumo should figure out a way to stem the tide of such high-profile departures.
an hour ago
Experts Seek Minister, Command Role for New Disaster Agency
News from Japan Society Jun 4, 2025 18:31 (JST) Tokyo, June 4 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese government expert panel proposed Wednesday that a new agency for disaster response should have a dedicated minister and be given the right to issue recommendations to other government ministries and agencies. The proposals are aimed at enabling the new agency to serve as command center for the country's disaster prevention and response efforts. They were included in a report submitted the same day to Ryosei Akazawa, minister in charge of preparations for the new agency, which the government hopes to launch in fiscal 2026. The government is set to submit related legislation to an ordinary session of parliament in 2026. Setting up a disaster management agency is one of the signature policies of the administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The report called for the agency to be set up under the cabinet and for it to have the necessary funding and expert personnel. The expert report also mentioned a need to boost support for disaster response systems that take account of regional circumstances. Ishiba has expressed willingness to set up regional bureaus for the new agency, while regional governments are seen launching full-fledged efforts to attract such bureaus. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
Suspect in Dalian murder of Japanese nationals identified
Local authorities revealed further details Tuesday about the killing of two Japanese nationals in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian late last month, including the suspect's surname and the apparent motive behind the crime. The suspect, identified only as a 42-year-old man with the surname Yuan, is a Chinese national and a long-term resident of Japan, according to a statement issued by the Dalian Public Security Bureau on Tuesday. The two Japanese victims — who were Yuan's business partners while in Japan — were visiting China when they were murdered, the statement said, adding that a business dispute with the suspect was allegedly the motive behind the killings on May 23. The Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang was notified about the incident on May 25. Local authorities told the mission at the time that the suspect had been taken into custody in connection with the killings. Given the nature of the incident, the consulate has not issued a safety warning to other Japanese nationals residing in the region, it told The Japan Times on Tuesday. Relevant authorities of the Dalian city government have informed the victims' families, who went to Dalian after the incident and raised no objections to local authorities' explanations, according to the police statement. They returned to Japan on Sunday after the bodies of the victims were cremated. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a news conference on Tuesday that the case is undergoing further investigation and that Chinese authorities will handle the case in accordance with the law. Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Tuesday in a news conference that the government is currently providing necessary support to the victims' families.
