Female mayor battles men-only sumo

TOKYO — A female mayor at the center of a fierce debate over allowing women into the sumo ring vowed on Thursday never to back down as she lodged a formal protest.

“I won’t give up this time around . ... I’m determined to make a petition every six months,” Tomoko Nakagawa said before taking her case to the sumo authorities in Tokyo.

“I want them never to leave this issue vague. I want the association to hear this voice clearly and start a debate on a review.”

Nakagawa later held a 30-minute meeting with senior sumo officials to urge them to treat men and women equally at ceremonies and events.

The officials told her the ban on women entering the ring was “tradition but not discrimination” but promised to discuss the issue at a meeting of executive officials, Nakagawa told reporters.

The association was available for comment.

The issue hit the headlines across the world when two women, one of whom was a nurse, were shooed out of a sumo ring as they tried to help a local mayor after he collapsed while giving a speech in Maizuru, northwest of Kyoto.

The rings where sumo is practiced, known as sumo dohyo, are seen as sacred places.

Sumo is closely interlinked with the native Shinto faith, which considers women to be ritually unclean, meaning they are barred from stepping into the ring.

But Nakagawa, the administrative head of the western not city of Takarazuka, described this as discrimination.

“While emphasizing sumo’s prestige and its being the ‘national’ sport, they are ousting women to promote nationalism,” she said.

‘Safety concerns’

Earlier this month, Nakagawa lost her fight to speak from a sumo ring but slammed the ban as she delivered a speech from a podium outside the ring.

“I’m a female mayor but I am a human being, ... but because I am a woman, despite being a mayor, I cannot make a speech in the ring.”

“It is regrettable and mortifying,” she added, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Citing “tradition” is just a way of keeping a lid on discussing the habit, she said.

“If you don’t change unreasonable things, Japan will forever be lagging behind when it comes to women’s issues,” said Nakagawa, one of only 19 female mayors in a country that has around 700 cities.

The head of the sumo association, who goes by the name Hakkaku, apologized after the women were ordered to leave the ring, describing it as “inappropriate” in a situation that involved someone’s health.

But the association sparked fresh controversy after it requested girls be prevented from participating in sumo events, citing “safety concerns”.

Other than the long-standing “tradition”, there has been no clear reason given by the association for the ban.

They are ousting women to promote nationalism.”

Tomoko Nakagawa, a female mayor in Japan