The "Asashoryu fiasco" touched upon in the Sept. 30 Sports Scope is indeed a molehill compared to stable master Tokitsukaze's cracking a beer bottle over young rikishi Takashi Saito's head and allowing other wrestlers to thrash him.
Teenager Saito's death was initially attributed to heart failure, but his father noticed bruises on his son's body. The stable master visited the father, apologized, and now the Japan Sumo Association is looking into the situation. This case of assault and battery should be receiving more media attention, because its gravity far exceeds yokozuna Asashoryu's fib about his medical condition.
In July, no young potential wrestlers showed up to enter the sumo world -- a wise decision. Japan Times writer Jack Gallagher is right on target in noting that "the sport will continue on its downward spiral" if the sumo powers that be don't wake up to the 21st century.
If Saito had joined the Self-Defense Forces and served in Iraq, he would have returned alive and without bruises. Do the media care?