There is a Tradition of Prohibition Against Women, PM Takaichi will Skip the New Year's Sumo Award Ceremony

Illustration of a sumo match at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo. (Wikimedia Commons/Renate Hano)

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to skip an award ceremony for a sumo wrestler who won the New Year's tournament, as the arena is traditionally off-limits to women, a government source said on Monday.

It has become customary for the Japanese Prime Minister to give the Prime Minister's Cup to the winners of the New Year and summer sumo tournaments at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan arena.

During the Kyushu tournament last November, Takaichi, who was traveling abroad at the time, sent his close aide Takahiro Inoue to hand the trophy to the champion and Ukrainian sensation, Aonishiki.

He is also expected to appoint a representative for the New Year's Grand Sumo Tournament, which ends on January 25, the source said.

Takaichi's decision, a conservative who became the country's first female prime minister last year, reflects her desire to uphold Japan's traditional culture in sumo, according to the source.

"The prime minister wants to respect the traditional sumo culture," a government official said, launching Kyodo News (12/1).

On the other hand, the ban on women entering the arena has drawn criticism for being discriminatory.

The ban on women entering the arena, which is considered a sacred place for male wrestlers, has drawn criticism for years. Former Cabinet Chief Secretary Mayumi Moriyama in 1990 and former Osaka Governor Fusae Ota in 2000 had previously expressed their desire to hand over the trophy to the tournament winner, but the Japan Sumo Association expressed objections.

The restrictions were further criticized in April 2018, when a woman who climbed into the ring to provide first aid to a fainting mayor was told by an official to get off the dohyo.

The Japan Sumo Association said in a written statement to Kyodo News, "We will continue to preserve traditional culture."