Sumo must eliminate doubts about match-fixing
In place of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, an event that the Japan Sumo Association has dubbed the Technical Examination Tournament, begins May 8 at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
The JSA adopted this name as part of its efforts to make the tournament a venue simply to display the fruits of wrestlers' training, completely removing any commercial elements.
As a result of match-fixing scandals, the JSA could not hold the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament that was scheduled for March or have an ordinary May tournament. The fact that two regular tournaments had to be abandoned indicates the profound gravity of the crisis now facing the sumo world.
Tickets to the current tournament are free. Live television broadcasts have been canceled, and sponsors are not providing any prize money for individual bouts. Also, no trophies or prize money from outside the JSA will be presented to the final winner.
Seven wrestlers in the makuuchi division and 10 in the juryo division have been expelled from the sumo world as a result of bout-rigging. As a result, the JSA found it hard to arrange suitable match-ups, and the so-called technical examination tournament can be seen as preparation for resumption of full-fledged tournaments.
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Fans eager for sumo rebirth
The JSA plans to compile the banzuke rankings for the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament in July based on the results of the current test tourney. Bouts will be awarded the same importance as those in ordinary tournaments.
Yokozuna Hakuho is keen to win his seventh straight tournament, which would tie the record held by retired Asashoryu.
About 140,000 applications were submitted to the JSA's lottery for 30,000 free tickets. This appears to illustrate fans' strong hopes that sumo will be reborn.
At the same time, fans are likely be watching the matches with a sharp eye. More than a few people may still harbor suspicions that wrestlers other than those who were expelled were involved in bout-fixing.
JSA Chairman Hanaregoma has said, "We are determined to recover the public trust we lost by means of good bouts in the ring." All wrestlers should be true to Hanaregoma's word, and we hope to see them fight in earnest to dispel any lingering suspicions of match-fixing.
It also is very important for the JSA to adopt thorough, effective measures to prevent the recurrence of throwing or fixing bouts.
Until recently, the JSA insisted that bout-rigging did not exist, and it failed to investigate matches that were suspected by many of being fixed. First of all, therefore, there should be serious efforts to fix the sumo world's tendency to ignore bout-fixing.
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Help reinvigorate society
Beginning with the current tournament, the JSA has decided to station sumo elders tasked with checking for match-fixing in such places as the wrestlers' locker rooms.
How stern will the JSA be toward wrestlers when they fail to do their utmost during bouts? The JSA should demonstrate its resolve in a way that convinces the public it will prevent future bout-fixing.
Professional baseball, soccer's J.League and other members of the sports world have done a great deal to help reinvigorate Japanese society after the Great East Japan Earthquake. It is deeply regrettable that an ordinary grand sumo tournament cannot be held.
The JSA says it will invite about 3,000 people from disaster-hit areas to the technical examination tournament.
After the tournament, we hope the JSA will make a tour of disaster areas by holding exhibition matches there to cheer disaster victims. Such a contribution would help restore the public's confidence in sumo.
Britain under pressure to reform electoral system
In a referendum held Thursday, British voters rejected a proposal to reform the first-past-the-post electoral system of the House of Commons, which has served as the basis for the country's traditional two-party system.
While 32 percent of voters supported the change, 68 percent opposed it.
The proposal was killed by the people because of their disappointment with the Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in the coalition government that promoted electoral reform. The complexity of the proposed voting and vote-counting method, compared with the existing system, also pounded nails in the proposal's coffin.
Observers said the Conservative Party, which leads the coalition government, will have difficulty running the government because it strongly opposed electoral reform.
The referendum proposed switching to an alternate vote (AV) system, which Australia and some other countries have adopted. Although the AV system has a single-member district system like the current system, ballots are cast and counted through different methods to reduce wasted votes.
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Election jolted major parties
Although it would not go so far as the proportional representation system, in which the number of votes garnered are more accurately reflected in the number of seats won, the AV system, if introduced, would favor the Liberal Democrats, the third-largest party in Britain.
The referendum was held against the background of a shake-up in Britain's traditional two-party system.
The Conservatives and the Labour Party have garnered more than 90 percent of the vote in past elections since World War II. However, in the general election held in May last year, they only managed to win a combined 65 percent of the vote. As a result, neither party was able to secure a majority, creating a hung parliament for the first time in 36 years.
The two parties both approached the Liberal Democrats to form a coalition. The Liberal Democrats chose the Conservative Party because it accepted a proposal to hold the referendum.
However, the Conservatives did not want to replace the first-past-the-post system, which is to their advantage. As far as electoral reform is concerned, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have been sleeping in the same bed, but having different dreams.
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Principles betrayed
The Liberal Democrats had to cooperate with the Conservatives to maintain the coalition by supporting such policies as spending cuts, which put a greater burden on the public, and restricting the entry of immigrants.
As a result, the Liberal Democrats strayed too far from their own principles and suffered a crushing defeat in local elections, which also were held on Thursday. The voters took their revenge on the Liberal Democrats' betrayal by rejecting the new voting system.
Nevertheless, the first-past-the-post system, which is advantageous to the two major parties, is losing its effectiveness as a mechanism to tap the voters' changing disposition.
The fact that the percentage of votes obtained by the Liberal Democrats approached those of the two major parties in the general election indicates an increasing number of voters are dissatisfied with existing politics.
Britain's electoral system, which has been a model for Japan, is certain to come under pressure to change.
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