No more sumo until bout-fixing rooted out
Penalties meted out to many sumo wrestlers involved in bout-fixing must be a catalyst for eliminating this unseemly practice from the sumo world.
The Japan Sumo Association announced Friday that it had punished 23 wrestlers and sumo elders who had rigged bouts.
The penalties, including "a recommendation to voluntarily retire" and two-year suspensions from sumo tournaments, were imposed on 21 active wrestlers and two oyakata elders, who allegedly fixed bouts during their competitive careers. No wrestlers in the three ranks below yokozuna were among the 23 slapped with disciplinary action.
The punishments are harsh and effectively boot the offenders from the sumo arena. Oyakata of stables to which the tainted wrestlers belong also have been punished for failing to properly manage their proteges. The JSA this time has taken an uncompromising line on bout-rigging.
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Investigations insufficient
However, we have doubts about the accuracy and exhaustiveness of the JSA investigation.
A special investigation panel comprising lawyers and other experts questioned wrestlers and elders on the matter, but the only three wrestlers who "confessed" to the panel had already admitted involvement in throwing bouts just after the scandal surfaced in February.
The panel failed to unearth many nuggets of hard evidence other than text messages from several wrestlers' mobile phones implying bout winners had been prearranged.
As a result, the investigation panel had no option but to weigh the three wrestlers' testimonies against bout results that appeared dubious as they tried to determine whether they had been fixed. The punishments will be hard to swallow for wrestlers who have been penalized despite denying any role in the scandal.
The JSA says it will continue investigating the problem. But as long as the panel has no binding power, it will be extremely difficult to get to the bottom of bout-fixing in sumo.
JSA Chairman Hanaregoma has said previously, "Until we drive out every cause of [bout-fixing] irregularities, we won't be able to let wrestlers publicly perform in a ring."
The Osaka tournament in March was canceled as sumo reeled from the scandal. Given the current situation, under which the JSA has fallen short of "driving out all causes" of match-rigging and related irregularities, it will be all but impossible to hold the upcoming summer grand sumo tournament scheduled for May.
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Face up to scandal
Sumo cannot exist without support from its fans. Bearing this in mind, the JSA should use the penalties handed out this time as a starting point for strengthening its efforts to prevent match-fixing.
The revelations of bout-fixing surfaced in February, but rumors that bouts had been decided in advance had been rife for years. The JSA had continually denied these suspicions, and did not even conduct a fact-finding study on the matter.
Above all else, the JSA should stop turning a blind eye to unpleasant realities. It should compile a package of match-fixing prevention measures that will convince sumo fans the association is serious about eliminating the bout-fixing scourge before it holds another tournament.
Many people are keenly looking forward to seeing sumo tournaments resume. Live sumo broadcasts would also surely cheer and encourage victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The JSA has an obligation to ensure sumo fans can watch hotly contested, genuine bouts as soon as possible.
Kan must overcome his distrust of bureaucrats
If Prime Minister Naoto Kan recognizes that this is a time of emergency, he needs to free himself from his pursuit of state affairs controlled by politicians--which is little more than a slogan anyway--and establish a system under which politicians and bureaucrats can tackle the crisis in a united manner.
The opposition camp has criticized Kan over his helicopter flyover at the troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant the day after a massive earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern parts of the nation. They say this caused a delay in initial responses by Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the plant, to nuclear accidents following the earthquake.
The prime minister brushed aside such criticism. But it cannot be denied that his aerial inspection delayed operations to release high-pressure steam from one of the reactors there by opening a vent valve.
He might have been eager to show off such a politician-led style in dealing with the problem, but the acts of a prime minister can have a larger impact than he may think. As it actually was a time of emergency, he needed to consider his acts even more carefully than usual.
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Too many experts
After the earthquake disaster, Kan appointed six experts in nuclear affairs and crisis management as advisers to the Cabinet Secretariat. This was also a questionable move.
He apparently has strong distrust of both TEPCO and the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, an external organ of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, due to their delayed disclosure of information, among other reasons, and is therefore eager to listen to the opinions of third parties.
But as TEPCO plays a central role in dealing with accidents at the plant, it should be a top priority for the prime minister to rebuild a relationship of trust with the company. While letting other Cabinet members gather opinions of private-sector experts, the prime minister should stand a step behind and oversee overall operations. This is an essential role of a leader.
With regard to support for disaster victims, a system to utilize the bureaucratic apparatus has been established in the form of a liaison conference of officials from relevant ministries and government offices, following the appointment of Yoshito Sengoku, the Democratic Party of Japan's acting president, to the post of deputy chief cabinet secretary in charge of the matter. This should have been done much sooner.
Furthermore, DPJ lawmakers called up by Sengoku have been issuing instructions willy-nilly, causing new confusion. It surely is necessary to have a control tower, but having too many team leaders can cause trouble. It is important that the chain of command be kept as simple as possible.
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Unclear communication
Kan's ability to transmit information also is a concern. He has wound up uttering abstract, unilateral messages and has barely responded to reporters' questions. It is understandable that some cynics have called him a "hikikomori," meaning a severely withdrawn person.
The prime minister's rather defensive attitude gives the impression both at home and abroad that the government may be withholding information. Together with delayed responses to the quake disaster, this has been causing a vicious circle of defensiveness and criticism.
After a long interval, Kan held a press conference Friday at which he announced a plan to set up a conference for reconstruction initiatives comprised of experts and local people. He also answered questions from reporters. From here on out, the prime minister is expected to more actively transmit information on his own.
A series of problems that have arisen in the aftermath of the disaster can be attributed to the slogans the DPJ-led administration has pursued--"seiji shudo," or politician-led handling of government affairs, and "datsu kanryo," or ending reliance on bureaucrats.
Kan himself still deeply distrusts bureaucrats, as he has since he was in the opposition force. To overcome this immediate crisis, he should take a leaf out of the books of prime ministers who effectively used bureaucrats' power.
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