Akebono speaks out about the sumo drug scandal

As part of their coverage of the drug scandal rocking the Japan Sumo Association, NTV interviewed former sumo wrestler Akebono:

As the first foreigner ever to obtain the rank of yokozuna, Akebono expresses his displeasure at the sight of fellow foreign sumo wrestlers behaving badly. While he does not claim to know the exact details of what went on with the Russian wrestlers, he is still feels they should have apologized and taken responsibility for their actions from the start.

He also talks about Asashoryu’s troubles, saying that it is difficult for a yokozuna to be as noble and dignified as the media and public expect. Akebono says it’s an especially hard situation when there are no older yokozuna still in the game to observe and learn from. He stresses that one can’t realistically expect a yokozuna to be perfect, and that Asahoryu has probably learned from his mistakes.

For Akebono, the supposed trouble with foreign sumo wrestlers isn’t because they are foreign, but rather because there aren’t enough older sumo wrestlers around to mentor them on how one should act. He seems to believe that the attitudes of this generation of wrestlers have become selfish, and there is not enough humility in the sport. Sumo wrestlers need to take pride in their profession and display a serious attitude when wrestling.

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Meanwhile, Daily Yomiuri sportswriter James Hardy has written an article about how sumo is hurt by its own mythmaking:

If sumo didn’t pretend to some higher purpose, none of this would happen. Setting yourself up as a semi-ascetic, morally unimpeachable, quasi-religious cultural asset is always going to cause trouble when the reality is a lot more prosaic.