Yaocho by mobile scandal-

[Kintamayama 45,111]

Suddenly, talk of the punishments is being heard. Word is that around 10 rikishi (of the 35 or so suspects) will receive an "advice of retirement" and other punishments. The various possibilities being tossed around-discharge, excommunication, advice of retirement, 2-3 grade demotion, one year suspension. It will depend on how the guilty rikishi cooperated with the committee so we may see various punishments, says the report. Names mentioned- Takenawa Oyakata, Chiyohakuhou, Enatsukasa and Kiyoseumi.

[Kintamayama 45,111]

More leaks- people close to the committee investigation are saying that those that have openly admitted to yaocho will receive "lesser punishments" than those who have denied it, yet strong evidence to the contrary exists regarding them. The committee is nearing some decisions and will present them as early as tonight to the Kyokai.

[Kintamayama 45,111]

Surpise surprise-no surprise-no decisions. Next meeting-the 25th.

[Kintamayama 45,111]

More rumors. About 20 rikishi were found to be involved in the yaocho shenanigans. One name said to be certain is current Tanigawa Oyakata, ex-Kaihou. Contrary to what I thought, the committee did make some progress and has come to conclusions and is ready to present the Kyokai with names and punishments. The new suspects were mainly named in the various mails sent from mobile phones and leave no room for doubt, say people close to the investigation. "The job is done and the conclusions are unanimous. There is no question if any of them did it or not," said a connected person. The numbers now are 10 rikishi/Oyakata in deep brown, while 10 others in a bit more shallow mud.

Two oyakatas targeted as well- Kokonoe and Kitanoumi, who might both see a two-class demotion and maybe more, as they are deemed to have lacked leadership by letting this happen.

Edited March 23, 2011 by Kintamayama

[Kintamayama 45,111]

Latest rumors (most plausible, I think, coming from Mainichi)- At least 15 people who are deemed to be guilty will all be dismissed (kaiko) at the least and jomei (excommunication) at worst. None of them are Sanyaku or higher. Some will get severance pay, some won't. There was talk of letting those that admitted to yaocho get "lighter" punishments but in the end, the related people came to the conclusion that the Japanese people won't accept anything less than a clean cut from the culprits. The decision may be announced as soon as in a few hours at the committee meeting this morning. The damning mobile phone messages are not the only evidence that will be used. There will be many rikishi who will be found guilty although they are denying any involvement. People in the know are saying evidence against these rikishi/Oyakata is overwhelming, as they were singled out by name by others, probably those that had admitted to doing yaocho. The Kyokai is preparing to be dragged into court by some of them. "Our lawyers say we have a good case so we are not worried,' said someone.

[Hakuyobaku 33]

So now we're back to the point of the belief when there's a 'ring' or something of juryo rikishi , those 15 or 20? And that is roughly the list of people we were having +-. Boring.

[Peterao 3]

The strategy of stalling until something that makes people forget about yaocho comes along has paid off. Some lambs both black and white will be sacrificed, nothing else will change because nobody really cares about this any more, and the old farts in the Kyokai will hang on long enough to escape with their full retirement.

I love happy endings!

[Kintamayama 45,111]

English

[Kintamayama 45,111]

April 1st. April Fool's Day. That is the day all will be revealed, said Mr. Ito of the committee. A rijikai will be held on that day where, probably, the punishments will be made public.

[Sashohitowa 6]

The strategy of stalling until something that makes people forget about yaocho comes along has paid off. Some lambs both black and white will be sacrificed, nothing else will change because nobody really cares about this any more, and the old farts in the Kyokai will hang on long enough to escape with their full retirement.

I love happy endings!

I don't agree with you here.

It could have looked like that if they were "investigating" for couple of more months and in the end firing only the most obvious suspects (like happened with the baseballgate). Protracting would have been even easier now in the context of the quake problems.

Apart from dismissing at least 15 people (which is not that low number), I see a good signal in the fact that the commitee didn't wait for the begining of May -- so it gives the impression that the outcome is driven bu the results of their investigation, and not from fear of canceling Natsu.

Just curious, what were your expectations in terms of number of people dismissed? Apart from the wish for the whole NSK to commit harakiri, I mean.

[Kintamayama 45,111]

Mr. Ito, head of the committee (my head is turning around..now, which committee was that again??) came out of the two hour meeting held today looking crisp and alert. Interview:

Q: Final stretch of the investigation, huh?

A: Two more phones are being checked by the manufacturers and we'll have answers in the middle of April. I doubt something really terrible will be found, but still, a lot of facts were found on these phones. Until we get these results, the Special Investigation committee (Oh, so that's what it is....) will continue to exist.

Q: So you must know who the participants were by now..

A: The number of those has not changed. It won't change on the first of April either..

Q: Will you be punishing those in the Nile in denial as well?

A: That is the main stumbling block more than 40 lawyers involved in this have encountered. If a case is brought against us, it will be a civil case, so it's unavoidable.

Q: Will each rikishi be receiving different punishments?

A: There is a difference. We have some sympathy for them. We decided on the punishments while trying not to be influenced by that sympathy..

Q: What was the level of achievement in this investigation?

A: Probably 0%. If we had a lot of money and a year to pursue this, and if we had police-like authority, we probably would have done better..

"Can we do this again? I forgot how to smile.."

Hanaregoma Rijicho was asked about May. "We can't know till we hear what the committee has to say." When asked about his personal view: "I cannot answer that.."

Edited March 25, 2011 by Kintamayama

[Peterao 3]

Just curious, what were your expectations in terms of number of people dismissed? Apart from the wish for the whole NSK to commit harakiri, I mean.

I had no expectation on the number to be punished, because that would imply that I had enough information to hazard an educated guess. But I do find it laughable that the leave-no-stone-unturned investigation that Hanaregoma asked for could be finished in March.

[Kintamayama 45,111]

Baruto and Kokkai, the foreigners who asked to be allowed to leave Japan or Tokyo but were denied, did some fundraising today outside Shinbashi train station and collected 567,230 yen today. Kokkai's mother was very worried about the situation and became ill, calling him 20 times a day. "She was watching the news and it reminded her of Chernobyl, so she apparently got really worried. A terrible thing has happened, so we have to help the people," said Kokkai. "I've been sending presents to orphans in Estonia every Christmas. Helping children is important. All the people of Japan should unite and gambarize-there is no other way!" added Baruto.

"Uncle Baruto, what's in the big box??"

Kokkai: "All my shaving gear, kid!!"

Edited March 26, 2011 by Kintamayama

[Kintamayama 45,111]

Onoe oyakata has a request from the committee- "If you're going to punish someone, I want to see real proof! I, as their shisho, have to defend them," he explained. He has three suspected rikishi in his heya, Yamamotoyama, Shirononami and Sakaizawa. He is hinting that if any of his deshi gets kicked out amid insufficient proof, he may go to court. "I haven't done anything. I will not agree to be dismissed because of some mistake," said Sakaizawa. "If the proof will be deemed insufficient other oyakatas will also resist this," added the Oyakata, hinting at a possibility of litigation on a large scale.

Juryo Asoufuji, who was not mentioned in the mobile mails but was questioned three times, said he will sue the Kyokai if they dismiss him.

Interesting turn of the events, reminiscent of the current peoples' uprisings in certain parts of the world..

[Asashosakari 19,319]

Onoe oyakata has a request from the committee- "If you're going to punish someone, I want to see real proof! I, as their shisho, have to defend them," he explained. He has three suspected rikishi in his heya, Yamamotoyama, Shirononami and Sakaizawa. He is hinting that if any of his deshi gets kicked out amid insufficient proof, he may go to court. "I haven't done anything. I will not agree to be dismissed because of some mistake," said Sakaizawa. "If the proof will be deemed insufficient other oyakatas will also resist this," added the Oyakata, hinting at a possibility of litigation on a large scale.

Juryo Asoufuji, who was not mentioned in the mobile mails but was questioned three times, said he will sue the Kyokai if they dismiss him.

Sakaizawa's in the same boat, no?

[Kintamayama 45,111]

Onoe oyakata has a request from the committee- "If you're going to punish someone, I want to see real proof! I, as their shisho, have to defend them," he explained. He has three suspected rikishi in his heya, Yamamotoyama, Shirononami and Sakaizawa. He is hinting that if any of his deshi gets kicked out amid insufficient proof, he may go to court. "I haven't done anything. I will not agree to be dismissed because of some mistake," said Sakaizawa. "If the proof will be deemed insufficient other oyakatas will also resist this," added the Oyakata, hinting at a possibility of litigation on a large scale.

Juryo Asoufuji, who was not mentioned in the mobile mails but was questioned three times, said he will sue the Kyokai if they dismiss him.

Sakaizawa's in the same boat, no?

I seemed to remember he was mentioned, but am not sure. I'm sure he was mentioned regarding something-maybe the baseball gambling thing.. but maybe that's right-he was also questioned three times by the committee.

Edited March 26, 2011 by Kintamayama

[Asashosakari 19,319]

April 1st. April Fool's Day. That is the day all will be revealed, said Mr. Ito of the committee. A rijikai will be held on that day where, probably, the punishments will be made public.

Schedule: The investigation committee will meet starting at 9am, the rijikai will commence at 10:30.

The current talk is that the (probably many) "grey" rikishi for whom significant doubt but insufficient evidence exists will end up with suspensions of one year or longer. I dunno, why not just drop them to the end of sandanme or something? If they're not actually good enough for juryo anymore, it hardly matters whether their futile attempt at climbing back up the ranks happens now or next year. (And even if they're good enough, starting from Sd100 costs them at least four basho worth of salary.)

Kyokunankai has released a statement today saying that, although he has consistently denied any involvement during his four committee interviews, he will accept whatever punishment the Kyokai hands out to him and that he will not sue for reinstatement should he be thrown out. (I don't dare mistranslate his actual comments, so here's the article if somebody's interested in his exact words.)

Edited March 31, 2011 by Asashosakari

[Kintamayama 45,111]

Three more are said to have admitted to yaocho- Ex-Kaihou, Moukonami and Shimotori. Their Oyakatas were also investigated.

Edit-Add Kyokunankai (as written above) and Wakatenrou to the guilty as well and all Oyakata of rikishi involved- Hakkaku, Tokitsukaze, Tatsunami, Kokonoe, Kise, Kasugano and I definitely forgot others. We are talking about 20 people to receive varying decrees of punishment.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Kintamayama

[Asashosakari 19,319]

Edit-Add Kyokunankai (as written above) and Wakatenrou to the guilty as well and all Oyakata of rikishi involved- Hakkaku, Tokitsukaze, Tatsunami, Kokonoe, Kise, Kasugano and I definitely forgot others. We are talking about 20 people to receive varying decrees of punishment.

Or even more - Mainichi's prediction has been clarified from "about 20 rikishi and oyakata [becoming subject to punishment]" yesterday to "more than 20 yaocho-participating rikishi" today, which would include some fresh oyakata like ex-Kasuganishiki and ex-Kaiho, but probably not the shishos up for sanctions due to lack of supervision. Adding in all of those guys we're probably at 30+ already...

There might be some surprises in that count of 20+ participants (Mokonami being the first), since it's clear that list isn't only derived from the set of incriminating mail messages which only named 13 or so after all. Wonder who spilled some beans during the "interviews"?

Edit: Half the rijikai and other top ranks receiving major punishments might be the final push it takes to get the Kyokai to separate the managing side from the coaching side (as the Governance committee has called for). It's rather ridiculous that the Kyokai's administrative functions get disrupted anytime one of the bigwigs' sekitori does something bad.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Asashosakari

[Jonosuke 28]

Why are so many leaks coming out of the Kommittee? They sure don't need any Wikileaks here.

Aside from those admitted, what are the concrete evidence against those rikishi being named so far? Unless the Kommittee can produce call logs pointing to those rikishi, I suspect all are hearsay evidence that would not stand up in any court of the law.

The rikishi singled out by the Kommittee have every right to speak up and fight for their right. As far as I can tell they have not been able to confront against whoever accusing them or whatever evidence presented against them.

[Asashosakari 19,319]

The next rikishi to be perp-recognized by the committee: Koryu. He's with Kyokunankai and Wakatenro in that he has never admitted to anything.

[Kintamayama 45,111]

The rikishi singled out by the Kommittee have every right to speak up and fight for their right. As far as I can tell they have not been able to confront against whoever accusing them or whatever evidence presented against them.

I'm pretttty sure anyone in the know knows and has known for quite a while who did what and where. They are not a bunch of innocent rikishi who were singled out for slaughter because the Kyokai needed scapegoats.. Everyone kept their mouths shut for years, but after getting caught with concrete evidence, at least we know that Kasuganishiki named names. 40 of them. I personally believe every single rikishi who will be dismissed (and quite a few others who managed to worm their way out of it) DID IT. There is no reason why someone will randomly kick someone else out for no reason. Just as I believe Itai in his time was telling the truth (maybe peppered it up a bit so it would be more tasty), I totally believe Yaocho is rampant. The only thing that bothers me is that they are blatantly ignoring all the higher ranked guys' shenanigans for obvious reasons. Stories started to emerge of yaocho at the highest levels but were quickly stifled , just like in the good old days.

I'd like to see the "wrongfully dismissed lambs" sue. I think when push comes to shove, in a court of law, the Kyokai can and will produce concrete evidence against them. The cryptic "our lawyers (42 of them..) have assured us that we will have no problems if we are sued" utterance seems to me like a direct threat to those that will dare.

[Kintamayama 45,111]

You can add Hakuba to the list of the guilty. Paper says Hakuba and at least two other Michinoku rikishi are involved as well. Add the Oyakata too, who will be punished for "neglect". The two other Michinoku rikishi- Juryo Toyozakura and Makushita Kirinowaka, who were mentioned in the original mobile messages. So, 16 names so far (my list, probably missing a few..):

Chiyohakuhou

Kiyoseumi

Wakatenrou

Enatsukasa

Kouryuu

Toyozakura

Hakuba

Kirinowaka

ex-Kaihou

Ex-Kasuganishiki

Shirononami

Moukonami

Shimotori

Shironoryuu

Asoufuji

Kyokunankai

Yamamotoyama (??)

Sakaizawa(??)

4 Mongolians with possibly no concrete proof? International incident looms, with Asa maybe telling a few untold stories.. Coming soon to a dohyo near you.

Edited March 29, 2011 by Kintamayama

[Fay 1,677]

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Shironoryuu

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4 Mongolians with possibly no concrete proof? International incident looms, with Asa maybe telling a few untold stories.. Coming soon to a dohyo near you.

Wasn't Shironoryu again involved in the baseball gambling thing (though I woulnd't be surprised to hear about yaocho too) (Sign of approval...)

[Kintamayama 45,111]

.

.Shironoryuu

4 Mongolians with possibly no concrete proof? International incident looms, with Asa maybe telling a few untold stories.. Coming soon to a dohyo near you.

Wasn't Shironoryu again involved in the baseball gambling thing (though I woulnd't be surprised to hear about yaocho too) (Sign of approval...)

Yes, I think it's my mistake here.