Japan's yakuza mafia faces a crackdown
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:58:52 -0700
Japan's yakuza mafia has long run unchecked. Recent sumo scandals highlight a deepening war against organized crime in Tokyo.
Sumo needs to break gang ties: comentator
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:48:00 -0700
TOKYO - Veteran sumo commentator Kunihiro Sugiyama says Japan's ancient sport needs to break all ties with organized crime to win back the confidence of fans.
Reform crucial to squashing gangster threat, says sumo expert
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 03:24:58 -0700
TOKYO, July 27 — Japan’s troubled sport of sumo needs radical slim-lining to sever ties to the underworld, a top sumo commentator said today. Champion wrestler Kotomitsuki was booted out of the ancient sport earlier this month after a probe into an illegal betting racket with reported ties to local gangsters. Sumo has lurched from one crisis to ...
Reform crucial to squashing gangster threat to sumo - expert
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 02:58:00 -0700
Japan's troubled sport of sumo needs radical slim-lining to sever ties to the underworld a top sumo commentator said on Tuesday.
Crime › Gun parts smugglers may have sold parts for several hundred guns
Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:43:06 -0700
Three people arrested early this week on suspicion of smuggling a machine gun part into Japan from the United States may have sold parts for…
Sumo: Hollow victory for grand champion
Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:46:05 -0700
Mongolian wrestler Hakuho won sumo's summer tournament Sunday, but with no trophy to show for his historic victory in a sport reeling from a widening gambling scandal linked to organised crime.
Stablemaster land deal tied to mob
Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:04:40 -0700
NAGOYA (Kyodo) Sumo stablemaster Sakaigawa purchased land in Aichi Prefecture in 2008 from a construction company whose board director had past connections with gangsters, sources said Friday. While the director, a relative of the company's president, is not a yakuza member, police have confirmed that he was once associated with them, investigative sources with Aichi Prefectural Police said.
Amazon:
Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:24:05 -0700
Amazon's shareholders shouldn't be blaming Amazon. Despite some sparkling growth, the online retailer's shares tumbled 13 per cent in after-market trading on July 22 following the company's second-quarter results announcement.
Stable rented gang-related man's building for 20 yrs
Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:15:17 -0700
Sumo stablemaster Matsugane has used an Osaka building rented from a gangster-related real estate agency president for 20 years as lodgings for his wrestlers, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
Mob-linked building rented by sumo figure
Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:19:51 -0700
Sumo stablemaster Matsugane rented a building in the city of Osaka from a business executive with alleged close ties to the Yamaguchi-gumi underworld syndicate and used it for training and lodging wrestlers in March, sources said Wednesday. The revelation is another blow to the ancient sport as it grapples with the scandal over illegal gambling involving wrestlers, stablemasters and the yakuza.
Crime › Stablemaster rents building from man with alleged gangster links
Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:57:56 -0700
Sumo stablemaster Matsugane rented a building in Osaka city from a business executive who police say has close ties with Japan's largest crime syndicate, and…
Sumo body must shed closed culture
Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:12:30 -0700
Stamping out evil practices that have taken deep root in the Japan Sumo Association is the only way to rebuild the national sport, which has lost public trust due to illegal gambling by sumo wrestlers .....
Sports › 60% of sumo fans skeptical over end of ties between JSA, gangsters
Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:16:09 -0700
Sixty percent of sumo fans attending the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament believe it will be difficult for the scandal-tainted Japan Sumo Association to sever ties…
Japan's Sport of Sumo Wrestling Slammed by Scandal
Sun, 18 Jul 2010 06:50:28 -0700
Some wrestlers admitted that they bet on baseball games, used organized crime bookies
Scandals send sumo's popularity into decline in Japan
Sat, 17 Jul 2010 22:07:05 -0700
NAGOYA, Japan • Sumo is more than a sport to Japan. It's like a religion, a bastion of traditional culture and a matter of national pride. Wrestlers aren't just athletes — they are icons, role mod
Sumo's seamy underbelly
Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:21:20 -0700
NAGOYA — Sumo is more than a sport to Japan. It's like a religion, a bastion of traditional culture and a matter of national pride. Wrestlers aren't just athletes — they are icons, role models and, often, larger-than-life heroes. Unless, of course, they are getting busted for smoking marijuana, breaking noses in drunken brawls or hobnobbing with yakuza.
Crime › Takanohana refutes reports on his contact with gangsters
Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:12:56 -0700
The Japan Sumo Association's special investigative panel said Saturday that former grand champion and JSA board member Takanohana has flatly denied media reports that he…
ANALYSIS : Scandals expose sumo’s shady underbelly
Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:42:44 -0700
Sumo is more than a sport to Japan. It has ancient religious roots, represents a bastion of traditional culture and is a matter of national pride. Wrestlers aren’t just athletes — they are icons, role models and, often, larger-than-life heroes.
Scandals expose sumo's shady underbelly
Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:41:34 -0700
In Japan, sumo wrestlers aren't just athletes - they are icons and role models. Unless, of course, they are breaking noses in drunken brawls or hobnobbing with gangsters. Japan - Sumo - sport - Organized crime - Asia
Scandals expose venerable sumo's shady underbelly
Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:43:15 -0700
NAGOYA, Japan (AP) - Sumo is more than a sport to Japan.
