Japan female mayor battles men- only sumo rule
Tokyo: A female mayor at the centre of a fierce debate over allowing women into the sumo ring vowed 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” of the practice of not allowing women into the sumo ring.
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 after the closeddoor meeting.
Nakagawa said the officials were “sincere” and “gentle” but she also felt a “strong” determination to respect the status quo”. The association was not immediately available for comment.
The issue hit the headlines nationally and internationally when women, including at least one nurse, were shooed out of a sumo ring as they tried to help a man during a medical emergency.
In footage that was widely broadcast on national news bulletins, several women rushed into the ring in Maizuru, northwest of Kyoto, after a local mayor collapsed while giving a speech.
But as the women attempted to help the mayor, multiple announcements were made over loudspeakers asking them to leave the ring.
The rings where sumo is practised, known as sumo dohyo, are seen as sacred places. Sumo is closely interlinked with the native Shinto faith.