Wrestlers from sumo's elite makuuchi division will visit Beijing and Shanghai next week to drum up publicity for this summer's weeklong tour of China, the Japan Sumo Association said Thursday.
JSA chairman Kitanoumi will meet the press in Beijing on April 13 and Shanghai on April 15 and will be joined by grapplers Tamanoshima and Tokitsuumi, who will be demonstrating various techniques of Japan's national sport.
In June, around 120 sumo grapplers and officials will make the trip to China, where exhibition bouts will be held in Beijing on June 5-6 and in Shanghai on June 9-10. It will be the first sumo event to be held in China since 1973.