Latest news with #JIJIPress
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Onosato promoted to yokozuna after record-setting ascent in sumo
Onosato's promotion comes just days after clinching the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament at Tokyo's Ryōgoku Sumo Hall with a 14-1 record, clinching second straight championship and fourth overall. Onosato's promotion comes just days after clinching the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament at Tokyo's Ryōgoku Sumo Hall with a 14-1 record, clinching second straight championship and fourth overall. Photograph: Japan Pool/JIJI Press/AFP/Getty Images Onosato has been promoted to sumo's highest rank of yokozuna, the Japan Sumo Association announced on Wednesday, completing a meteoric rise to the summit of Japan's national sport in the record span of 13 tournaments. The 24-year-old, who weighs 421lb (191kg) and stands 6ft 4in (1.92m) tall, becomes the 75th yokozuna in sumo's centuries-spanning history and the first Japan-born wrestler to hold the title since Kisenosato in 2017. His promotion comes just days after clinching the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament at Tokyo's Ryōgoku Sumo Hall with a 14-1 record, clinching his second straight championship and fourth overall. Advertisement Onosato's promotion was made official after a unanimous recommendation from the JSA's advisory council on Monday and approved by the board of trustees at a special meeting on Wednesday. He is now the fastest wrestler to reach yokozuna in the modern six-tournament calendar era, which dates to 1958. The record ascent eclipses the previous mark of 21 basho set by Wajima, another Ishikawa native, in 1973. 'I am truly happy,' Onosato told reporters on Wednesday after receiving the decision from JSA envoys at his Nishonoseki stable in Ibaraki Prefecture. 'Now, things will become more important than ever. I want to stay focused and continue to work hard.' He added: 'I will devote myself to training so as not to disgrace the rank of yokozuna. I want to be the one and only grand champion.' The phrase 'one and only' echoed his remarks last September when he was promoted to ōzeki, sumo's second-highest rank. 'I didn't originally plan to say it again, but it just felt right,' he said. 'It was the only thing that came to mind.' Advertisement Onosato, whose birth name is Daiki Nakamura, entered the professional ranks in May 2023 after a decorated amateur career at Toyo University. He began in the third-tier makushita division and quickly scaled the ranks without a single losing record, reaching ōzeki in his ninth tournament and before reaching the top in his 13th. He secured his latest title on day 13 of the Summer tournament – where competitors wrestle once daily and the best record after 15 days wins – by defeating fellow ōzeki Kotozakura to improve to 13-0. His only loss came on the final day to Hoshoryu, the Mongolian-born yokozuna who was promoted in January. Hoshoryu finished 12-3 and the result has only heightened anticipation for a nascent rivalry between the two. They are set to face off as yokozuna for the first time at the Nagoya tournament in July – sumo's grand tournaments are held every two months throughout the year in the odd-numbered months – the first time two grand champions will top the banzuke ranking list since 2021. It makes the first time that two rikishi have earned promotion to yokozuna in the same calendar year since 1987, when Hokutoumi and Onokuni both reached the top. 'Winning two straight tournaments as an ōzeki is an impressive feat,' said Tadamori Oshima, chairman of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council, said on Sunday. 'Above all, he remained composed and consistent under pressure.' Advertisement The promotion ends a period of scarcity for Japanese-born yokozuna. Before Kisenosato in 2017, Japan had gone nearly two decades without a native wrestler at the top rank, as Mongolian wrestlers dominated the sport. Six of the last seven yokozuna before Onosato were born in Mongolia, including the record-shattering Hakuho, Harumafuji and Asashoryu. 'I hope he leads by example and lifts the entire world of sumo,' said Nishonoseki, Onosato's stablemaster, who competed as Kisenosato. 'He's still developing. He's been building his body properly since entering the stable, making steady efforts. Training does not lie.' Onosato's rise has been widely hailed both for its symbolic significance and his calm, composed style. A technical and balanced wrestler, he has been praised for his maturity in the ring and his steady temperament off it. His promotion has also been a source of pride in his home prefecture of Ishikawa, which was devastated by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake on New Year's Day in 2025. More than 600 people died in a disaster that displaced thousands and the Noto Peninsula region continues to rebuild. 'I will work hard as a yokozuna to encourage and cheer up the Ishikawa prefecture and the Noto region,' he said. He is now the third yokozuna from Ishikawa, following Wajima and Haguroyama. With the sport preparing for an international exhibition at London's Royal Albert Hall in October, his promotion comes at a time when JSA is seeking to broaden its global profile while reconnecting with fans at home. Advertisement At 24, Onosato is the youngest yokozuna since Takanohana's promotion in 1994 and thought to be the first to reach the rank without a single losing record in the top division. What comes next is not only the pressure of defending the rank, but the responsibility that accompanies it both inside and outside the dohyo. 'This is unknown territory for me,' Onosato said. 'But I want to continue being myself: to wrestle my way, stay focused, and become a unique and unparalleled yokozuna.'
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Record snowfall buries Hokkaido, Japan
Record snow has buried parts of the island of Hokkaido, Japan, this week. Obihiro received 47 inches (120 cm), setting a new record for 12-hour snowfall Monday night. In the same time period, Memuro reported 41 inches (105 cm). The most recent snow is the result of a strong cold front, which dropped temperatures as low as 10 degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees below zero Celsius). Heavy machinery (C) is used to clear a road as snow falls across northern Japan, in the city of Obihiro, Hokkaido prefecture on February 4, 2025. (Photo by STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images) Flights were canceled, and many roads were closed on Tuesday in Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu. In some parts of the country, an especially snowy winter continues. Aomori City is reported to have spent the largest budget ever for snow removal. At ARAI Snow Resort in Niigata Prefecture, the snow depth was 17.26 feet (526 cm) on Jan. 31. Heavy machinery is used to clear a road as heavy snow falls across northern Japan, in the city of Obihiro, Hokkaido prefecture on February 4, 2025. (Photo by STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images)
South China Morning Post
31-01-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Hegseth, Nakatani discuss US-Japan defence alliance in first phone call
New US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani agreed in their first phone call Friday to continue efforts to strengthen the countries' alliance, Tokyo said. Hegseth – a former infantryman and Fox News personality – was sworn in last weekend, having narrowly won Senate confirmation despite allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and concerns over inexperience. Key allies Japan and the United States are each other's top foreign investors, and 54,000 US military personnel are stationed in Japan, mostly in Okinawa east of Taiwan. But President Donald Trump's 'America First' approach could mean less cash from Washington for security in the region, analysts have warned. Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani. Photo: JIJI Press via AFP 'The ministers affirmed their firm intent to continue the initiatives to reinforce the alliance, including the upgrading of respective command and control framework and expansion of bilateral presence in the southwestern region of Japan,' Tokyo's defence ministry said. Nakatani said 'he looks forward to working with Secretary Hegseth to further strengthen the alliance capabilities to deter and respond amid the increasingly severe security environment' in the Asia-Pacific, the ministry statement added.
