The Japan Sumo Association plans to file a criminal complaint against a magazine publisher for defamation over articles on alleged match-fixing following a series of civil lawsuits the association filed earlier this year, sumo sources said Saturday.
The JSA executive committee members have already approved the planned action against Kodansha Ltd., the publisher of the weekly Shukan Gendai, Yorimasa Takeda, the writer of the articles in question, and others involved, they said.
The association has filed three civil lawsuits over the same issue between late February and mid-April, seeking damages and an apology by alleging that the magazine misled its readers and defamed the JSA and sumo wrestlers.
Asashoryu was the main focus of the articles, one of which said the Mongolian grand champion habitually pays opponents to lose and that other wrestlers engage in rigging bouts upon request.