Breaking News - Police to Charge Tokitsukaze oyakata

[Kintamayama 47,294]

And, on cue, a special rijikai was held today to decide what to do with the three deshi involved. The police are saying they are nearing the end of their investigation. The Kyokai decided to convene the elders in order to be ready for whatever transpires. "I am not familiar with the circumstances so I can't say anything. As for dealing with the rikishi, it is a serious and grave thing so I can't elaborate, but first of all we will be obliged to confer with our lawyer", said Kitanoumi rijicho.

[Kintamayama 47,294]

The plan is to arrest ex-Tokitsukaze and at least 3 deshi in February. The summary of the investigation is " a chain of assaults that led to death". So this is now going to officially become a criminal case. Although the Oyakata said it was regular keiko, some deshi testified it was punishment. People from the Kyokai and other specialists testified that this was not usual for a keiko with a new rikishi-it was longer by far.

[Mark Buckton 1]

look for movement in this very soon

[Kintamayama 47,294]

look for movement in this very soon

Papers are saying the Oyakata and three rikishi will be arrested by the end of the week.

[Harry 67]

http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/hl?c=sumo&a=...0000036-spn-spo

Criminal investigation opened up on former bosses and the three rikishi as they conclude that the two days of punishment were connected with the death which resulted from the shock of repeated beatings.

Edited February 6, 2008 by Harry

[Mark Buckton 1]

look for movement in this very soon

Papers are saying the Oyakata and three rikishi will be arrested by the end of the week.

indeedy - expect this one to go international again. Phones started on Tuesday on this one and the media have been keeping their eyes peeled since then. Betting on Friday myself.

[Kaikitsune Makoto 210]

Was the cause of death hyperkalemia after all? Somehow I remember such statement at some point that he had excessive amounts of potassium in his blood. So what may have happened is this:

Beatings a lot and butsukari etc. causing muscles to leak potassium due to rabdomyolysis etc. Hyperkalemia (hyperpotassemia) occurred and caused cardiac arrytmia due to fine cardiac muscle intricasies. Arrytmia was ventricular fibrillation which kills anyone if not treated. He got that and died.

Cause of death: Hyperkalemia induced ventriculal fibrillation caused by excessive beatings and forcing the deceased to work out over all limits and hence cause internal voluntary muscle damage enough to result in hyperkalemia.

It is very rare to be able to kill someone like this. Otherwise training maniacs would drop like flies in many sports but the beatings must have played a big role in this. In any case it is quite clear that he was put through a massive punishment ordeal unless he had weak heart somehow and this evidently wasn't the case and no congenital heart defects were reported in autopsy report.

[Jonosuke 28]

Well the Aichi Prefectural Police just arrested the former oyakata and three missing in action rikishi since last year.

Akiyutaka, former Tokitairyu, 24, rather promising Tokyo Nogyo grad, the highest rank of Makushita 12 and former Jonidan yusho rikishi.

Dotou, former Soryuzan, 25, who was at Sandanme W65 with 5 win 2 loss just after the 2007 Aki.

Tokiomaru, former Sokenzan, 22, who was at Sandname East 96 with 3 win and 4 losses prior to the 2007 Aki.

As much of the tragedy is the life of three young promising recruits tarnished and their career destroyed by this whole incident.

Why taking seven months to arrive at this was another tragedy for the parents of Tokitaizan.

[Harry 67]

More on the suspects, article: http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/hl?c=sumo&a=...0000129-mai-spo

It also talks about when, last April, Toyonoshima was injured during a keiko with Asashouryuu, when a suspect was criticized for overdoing it. He went to the hospital and showed the side of him that loves the students but his personality changed when liquor become involved.

Edited February 7, 2008 by Harry

[Harry 67]

Now in English: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/sports_japan_sumo_col

[Doitsuyama 1,259]

More on the suspects, article: http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/hl?c=sumo&a=...0000129-mai-spo

It also talks about when, last April, Toyonoshima was injured during a keiko with Asashouryuu, when a suspect was criticized for overdoing it. He went to the hospital and showed the side of him that loves the students but his personality changed when liquor become involved.

Say again? Your willingness to translate is appreciated, but the result sounds pretty badly mangled to me. At least I have to admit that I didn't get the gist.

[Kintamayama 47,294]

"This is the biggest stain in Sumo's history", said Deputy Education etc. Minister Matsunami Pigtail today.

"It is really inexcusable", said current Tokitsukaze Oyakata to the bereaved family. "We are cooperating fully with the police. I cannot say anything on the matter", he added."It is, however, the shisho's responsibility, I think", he added, referring to the ex who was his shisho as well. As for the suspect three deshi: "I haven't seen them for three -four days but hope they gambarize. This should never happen. I intend to keep a close eye on things so that it never does", said Tokitsukaze Oyakata.

The people in charge of the investigation were asked some serious questions, the hardest one being why they diagnosed it as a natural death at first, and only later found out how wrong they were. "Well, there was no fracture and even the doctor diagnosed it as a natural death. The deshi all said it was butsugari keiko..", said one of them, looking ashamed. "We didn't want to jump to conclusions..", said another.

One of the suspects:

Outside Tokitsukaze beya:

The people in charge of the investigation:

Edited February 7, 2008 by Kintamayama

[Harry 67]

More on the suspects, article: http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/hl?c=sumo&a=...0000129-mai-spo

It also talks about when, last April, Toyonoshima was injured during a keiko with Asashouryuu, when a suspect was criticized for overdoing it. He went to the hospital and showed the side of him that loves the students but his personality changed when liquor become involved.

Say again? Your willingness to translate is appreciated, but the result sounds pretty badly mangled to me. At least I have to admit that I didn't get the gist.

I was quickly trying to write that down when I didn't have a lot of time but that is essentially what it says. I can do a more thorough translation later and will make sure I didn't make an incorrect assumption with the lack of pronouns that Japanese uses about who did what to whom. I too was surprised to see Asashouryuu's name involved in this piece of news but it definitely is -- there is no question about that, or Toyonoshima's name. Or the liquor for that matter; the bit about the personality changing when sake (liquor in general) enters is not possible to have translated incorrectly wrong.

[Asashosakari 20,272]

I was quickly trying to write that down when I didn't have a lot of time but that is essentially what it says. I can do a more thorough translation later and will make sure I didn't make an incorrect assumption with the lack of pronouns that Japanese uses about who did what to whom. I too was surprised to see Asashouryuu's name involved in this piece of news but it definitely is -- there is no question about that, or Toyonoshima's name. Or the liquor for that matter; the bit about the personality changing when sake (liquor in general) enters is not possible to have translated incorrectly wrong.

I think the point of confusion is that it wasn't one of the suspects who was criticized at the time, it was Asashoryu. Ex-Tokitsukaze was the one doing the criticizing.

[Kintamayama 47,294]

I was quickly trying to write that down when I didn't have a lot of time but that is essentially what it says. I can do a more thorough translation later and will make sure I didn't make an incorrect assumption with the lack of pronouns that Japanese uses about who did what to whom. I too was surprised to see Asashouryuu's name involved in this piece of news but it definitely is -- there is no question about that, or Toyonoshima's name. Or the liquor for that matter; the bit about the personality changing when sake (liquor in general) enters is not possible to have translated incorrectly wrong.

Without knowing what it is you translated, it is obviously alluding to Asa's causing an injury to Toyonoshima in keiko, when the then Tokitsukaze Oyakata was righteously indignant about Asa's conduct. and it probably is alluding to the Oyakata's known drinking habits and to the fact that when he had one too many he would become a raging lunatic, as apparently happened in this case. All this in one sentence.

[Harry 67]

I was quickly trying to write that down when I didn't have a lot of time but that is essentially what it says. I can do a more thorough translation later and will make sure I didn't make an incorrect assumption with the lack of pronouns that Japanese uses about who did what to whom. I too was surprised to see Asashouryuu's name involved in this piece of news but it definitely is -- there is no question about that, or Toyonoshima's name. Or the liquor for that matter; the bit about the personality changing when sake (liquor in general) enters is not possible to have translated incorrectly wrong.

I think the point of confusion is that it wasn't one of the suspects who was criticized at the time, it was Asashoryu. Ex-Tokitsukaze was the one doing the criticizing.

Thanks for the clarification. That's how I initially read it but I guess in my mind I couldn't believe that Asashouryuu was the one being criticized.

[Sasanishiki 57]

This is a translation of the article Harry was mentioning before:

Previous Tokitsukaze Oyakata was a different person when he drank

Tokitsukaze-beya originates from the Futabayama Sumo Dojo that was established by the Dai-Yokozuna Futabayama, perhaps best known for his ozumo record win streak of 69 matches. The shisho two generations ago (former Ozeki Yutakayama) was also the Rijicho of the Nihon Sumo Kyokai. The man he entrusted his heya to in 2002, former Komusubi Futatsuryu (real name Yamamoto Jun

[Kintamayama 47,294]

This is a translation of the article Harry was mentioning before:

Previous Tokitsukaze Oyakata was a different person when he drank etc..

Mr. Sasanishiki, why don't you do more of these? Excellent translation, of course.

[Sasanishiki 57]

Thanks for the praise. TIme and timing tend to conspire against me doing many translations. I am finishing my thesis currenlty, plus being in NZ means that it is usually the wrong time of day when the news comes out in Japan (usually mid-morning my time so I'm busy, or is early evening for the evening editions of the Japanese papers and I haven't settled in front of the computer for the evening yet).

[Sasanishiki 57]

This is an article that follows on from Moti's earlier post about the Ministry

Outside talent as Riji

Having had former Tokitsukaze Oyakata arrested for the death of his jonokuchi rikishi, the Sumo Kyokai

[Fukurou 534]

The BBC is reporting the reaction of Japanese PM Fukuda

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7235156.stm

This article has a photo, but I'm not sure who's in the photo

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

The BBC is reporting the reaction of Japanese PM Fukuda

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7235156.stm

This article has a photo, but I'm not sure who's in the photo

Looks like Asashoryu and Miyabiyama.

[madorosumaru 7]

Always An Amabolist

The former Tokitsukaze Oyakata and three ani-deshi are currently behind bars for the death of a young deshi. The Aichi Prefectural Police held a press conference to describe the situation at the jail. "The three rikishi slept well and had both breakfast and lunch. In fact, one of them complained that there wasn't enough to eat."

According to the police, the detainees are fed boxed meals (bento) three times a day, consisting of white rice and meat/vegetable side dishes. Each meal is carefully planned to provide sufficient variety and necessary calories. However, for an inveterate amabolist, the portions certainly would not be adequate. One would seriously doubt that a request for seconds would be honored.

At the conference, it was also revealed that during the butsukari-keiko that led to the death of the deshi, the oyakata spanked the kid in the rear with a stick. He, then, tossed the stick onto the dohyo, where the ani-deshi picked it up and continued the beating. It has not been established whether the oyakata did that to indicate that he wanted the ani-deshi to continue the punishment, and investigation is continuing to determine that.

Two of the ani-deshi have admitted to their part in the sorry affair, but makushita Akiyutaka, who was the lender of chest in the butsukari, insists adamantly that what he did was part of [normal] discipline. As for the oyakata, he concedes that he hit Tokitaizan with a beer bottle at dinner but denies that he ever "ordered" the punishment of the boy for repeatedly flying the coop.

[Washuyama 662]

It's even made it onto the "front page" of the U.S. edition of CNN.com

[Zingo 0]

Even in the Swedish papers....... Basically the same text as in the CNN note...<http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article1802948.ab>