Japan Sumo Association lawyer Keiji Isaji on Wednesday questioned stable elder Miyagino for the second time over an article in a weekly tabloid magazine that claimed he had played the role of mediator in fixing matches.
Shukan Gendai recently alleged that Miyagino, the sumo elder of newly-promoted yokozuna Hakuho, confessed to an unidentified female acquaintance that he approached wrestlers, including yokozuna Asashoryu and ozeki Hakuho, at the Nagoya meet last year about rigging bouts.
What is more, the conversation between Miyagino, a former juryo wrestler previously called Kanechika, has been recorded on tape, the magazine said. Hakuho was named sumo's 69th yokozuna on Wednesday.