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August 15, 2024
 

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Mark Buckton

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Mark Buckton
Mark Buckton has covered sumo for The Japan Times Online since 2006 and has long worked with broadcast media such as the BBC and CNN when things go awry in the sport. He has contributed to six books on Japanese culture, and is a columnist at entertainment magazine Eye-Ai.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Sep 10, 2008
Sumo struggles as Aki Basho approaches
In the days leading up to the Aki Basho, sumo is on the ropes.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Aug 19, 2008
The busy sumo boys of summer
While summer is a time of rest and relaxation for many, the men at the top rungs of the sumo ladder enjoy no such benefits — or at least it would appear.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jul 29, 2008
Asa might not have been all there, but Haku certainly was
When yokozuna Asashoryu withdrew from the July 13-27 Nagoya Basho on Day 6, public opinion was largely split.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jul 8, 2008
Pounds equal prizes
There are several topics of note coming out of the upcoming Grand Sumo Tournament in Nagoya.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jun 17, 2008
Sumo's future isn't in the U.S.
Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times carried a very brief article on the sport of sumo.
Japan Times
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
May 27, 2008
Asashoryu mars Kotooshu's day of glory
In a shade over 250 years of recorded sumo history, no European has ever been crowned king of the ring. No European has ever held aloft the Emperor's Cup. No European has ever won a Grand Sumo Tournament.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
May 8, 2008
How firm is the reign of the Mongolians?
If asked to name a favorite to win the May 11-25 Natsu Basho at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, not many sumo fans will be looking beyond the obvious yokozuna duo of Hakuho and Asashoryu.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Apr 15, 2008
How hard should it be to get a ticket to see sumo?
Earlier this year, Kokonoe Oyakata, former yokozuna Chiyonofuji, was appointed head of the Nihon Sumo Kyokai's (NSK) Public Relations Department.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Mar 25, 2008
Hakusho Part II raises more questions marks
In the run-up to the Osaka Haru Basho, all eyes were on the "Hakusho" pair; a combination of the names of yokozuna Hakuho and Asashoryu that is increasingly being using to describe the recent era of sumo titans.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Mar 8, 2008
Who can steal the limelight from the Mongolian princes of sumo?
A little over a week ago, the Nihon Sumo Kyokai announced its rankings for the upcoming Haru Basho in Osaka.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Mar 4, 2008
Poverty breeds sumo? Think again
The sport of sumo has been going through some rough times recently. Big case in point: the recent arrests of former Tokitsukaze Oyakata, (Junichi Yamamoto) and three of his rikishi. The four are currently being held by police in relation to the mid-2007 hazing death of former Tokitsukaze Beya rikishi,...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Dec 12, 2007
Asashoryu Akinori — the people's champion?
The 2007 sumo season has drawn to a close, and no sumo fan in his or her right right mind would want to see a repeat of it.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Nov 28, 2007
Hakuho notches another as the ozeki raise eyebrows
This year's Kyushu Basho, which ended Sunday, saw Hakuho stride through the muck and grime to claim the fifth title of his career with a 12-win, 3-loss record. When push came to shove, his class shined through. Hakuho, who is looking more and more like the second coming of the great yokozuna Futabayama,...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Nov 6, 2007
Game over for Kaio and Chiyotaikai?
As the Kyushu Basho, running Nov. 11-25, rumbles around once again, so does the regular talk of ozeki retirement.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Oct 18, 2007
Who killed Takashi Saito?
That any life should be lost during sport is tragic, and sumo is no exception.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Sep 25, 2007
Hakuho, and other foreign-born wrestlers, dominate the Autumn Basho
Of the 700 men active in professional sumo less than 10 percent are foreign-born. Of the six divisions in which they compete, only one went the way of a Japanese rikishi at this year's Autumn Basho. The remaining five divisions were dominated by men from afar.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Sep 4, 2007
The king is all but dead — long live sumo!
Following his flight home, the Mongolian police and military were deployed to prevent Japanese media access to "their" man, Asashoryu, and not since the time Konishiki was looking at promotion to yokozuna has the line separating Japanese and non-Japanese suitability to hold the rank been drawn so prominently...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Aug 14, 2007
Close the door on the way out Asashoryu
Every sport has its ups and downs. Every sport has its bad boys. Sumo, in as far as it is classified as a sport, is no different.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jul 24, 2007
Normal service resumed at the Nagoya Basho
Hakuko, Sumo's 69th yokozuna, overcame his first-ever official yokozuna bout with a convincing yorikiri win against fellow Mongolian Tokitenku of Tokitsukaze Beya. Following that impressive start, however, he flipped on the auto-pilot switch and glided out week one. Stumbling several times in the second...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jul 3, 2007
Anticipation tarnished by tragedy before Nagoya basho
At a time when sumo fans were excitedly anticipating the first tournament since late 2003 that boasts two yokozuna, tragedy struck: In late June, a 17-year-old rikishi died after a training session.
Japan to revise consumption tax exemption for overseas tourists
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo in April
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
Focus shifts to incoming typhoon as Tropical Storm Maria dissipates
Newly formed Tropical Storm Ampil, which is forecast to approach eastern Japan this weekend, is seen on the left side of this satellite image.
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
Economic security is about strengthening and sustaining growth, former minister says
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi says changes in the international balance of power, along with deepening economic interdependence, have led some countries to attempt to use their economic power to impose their will on others.
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’
By Thu-Huong Ha

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JNTO promotes sustainable tourism initiatives

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