Kintamayama 45,158 Posted November 10, 2018 (edited) An Ootake beya Makushita rikishi drove a car (not allowed) and caused an accident, and is suspected of being under the influence at the time, to top it all. This happened yesterday at dawn. The car hit a guard rail. He was apparently alone and was not injured. The Fukuoka prefecture police are treating this as a drunken driving incident. The rikishi is an adult and has a legal driving license. At first, he denied the allegation but after some questioning and pressure admitted to the deed, so the Oyakata notified the police. The rikishi will be kyujo this basho (it's probably Shingaku, at the very bottom of Makushita) and the Kyokai will wait for an official investigation before deciding what to do with him. "The Kyokai has strenuously tried to educate and warn about these things, so this is very regrettable," said Shibatayama PR man. "We already had the same thing happen before within the heya (Oosunaarashi). I specifically warned the rikishi of misconduct time and again and to not do anything that may let the fans down and cause trouble for the Kyokai. I have no words to describe my shock at this event. All I can do is hang my head in shame," added Ootake Oyakata. The car belongs to a close friend of the Oyakata and he didn't know the lad had a license. "Yesterday was the first time I heard he had a license. He entered sumo immediately after high school so the thought never crossed my mind. The fact that I didn't know is my bad," added Ootake Oyakata. Edited November 10, 2018 by Kintamayama 1 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bumpkin 438 Posted November 10, 2018 What's the minimum age to get a drivers license in Japan? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kishinoyama 595 Posted November 10, 2018 1 hour ago, Bumpkin said: What's the minimum age to get a drivers license in Japan? 18.... If the search engine I used has the correct information. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Otokonoyama 2,735 Posted November 10, 2018 That is correct. Though it does not seem to be customary, he could have gotten his license sometime during his final year of high school. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gurowake 4,081 Posted November 10, 2018 Being in the same stable as Osunaarashi was makes this a little more interesting than it might have otherwise been. Did Osunaarashi have a bad influence on other deshi? Is there something about the physical location of Otake stable that makes rikishi more inclined to break the rules regarding driving? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yamanashi 3,854 Posted November 10, 2018 Well, I estimate it's a seven hour drive back home to Amagasaki, so he sure as hell wasn't homesick. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kintamayama 45,158 Posted November 11, 2018 Ootake Oyakata will not be executing his duties as a member of the inspection committee, that committee that is supposed to check that there is no lethargic sumo (code word for yaocho) going on. He has asked to be relieved of his duties as he is dealing with this new problem with the local police. He will continue to guide his deshi though, as this is not a punishment. No one will be replacing him on the committee. 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akinomaki 40,593 Posted November 15, 2018 (edited) Today charges have been filed against Shingaku for drunken driving and causing a traffic accident (hitting a guard rail) and failure to report it to the police immediately. The owner of the car noticed the damage to it. Shingaku admitted that he drank with 2 others at the heya lodgings, 2 bottles of beer and 4-5 cups of sake. He was driving to a convenience store to withdraw money when he caused the accident. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/fukuoka-news/20181115/0002847.html the car o vid Edited November 16, 2018 by Akinomaki 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akinomaki 40,593 Posted November 15, 2018 (edited) Shingaku at first had lied to the police and told that, while heading for a convenience store, he came across this damaged car, belonging to a friend of the oyakata, and just drove it to another location. He admitted to the full truth when questioned by the NSK and reported it then to the police. http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20181115/sum18111512060009-n1.html Maybe a low ranker can get away with just a 2 basho suspension for this (plus the 1 kyujo now) Edited November 15, 2018 by Akinomaki 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asapedroryu 235 Posted November 15, 2018 It might be from the picture, but how can a sumo wrestler fit in that small car? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akinomaki 40,593 Posted November 15, 2018 (edited) 13 hours ago, RPedro44 said: It might be from the picture, but how can a sumo wrestler fit in that small car? Shingaku is listed as 170 cm 123 kg 5 years ago for his debut at 19, now likely a bit heavier - sumo wrestlers are known to be very flexible - and we don't know the exact inside proportions of the car. o Edited November 16, 2018 by Akinomaki Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kuroyama 715 Posted November 15, 2018 3 hours ago, RPedro44 said: It might be from the picture, but how can a sumo wrestler fit in that small car? Go to the Netherlands and you shall see wonders such as this on a regular basis. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akinomaki 40,593 Posted November 20, 2018 (edited) On 15/11/2018 at 12:54, Akinomaki said: Today charges have been filed against Shingaku for drunken driving and causing a traffic accident (hitting a guard rail) and failure to report it to the police immediately. Shingaku wasn't indicted for drunken and reckless driving, because there was not enough evidence for that. For not reporting the accident to the police he got a summary indictment and a fine of 20 000 Yen. https://www.tnc.co.jp/news/articles/NID2018112002991 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8kE8pMfS98 Better videos on the Yahoo pages https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20181120-00010007-kbcv-l40 https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20181120-00000006-tncv-l40 Edited November 20, 2018 by Akinomaki 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akinomaki 40,593 Posted November 20, 2018 The NSK plans to discuss the punishment for Shingaku and Otake-oyakata at the riji-kai after the basho. Shibatayama emphasized that the NSK will make sincere efforts to prevent a recurrence of such an incident. http://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/201811200000466.html 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mogami 6 Posted November 22, 2018 drunk driving aside, what I do realy wonder about this "Rikishi must not drive a car" (law?) is, if that is actualy inforced by law, or if its something you get "only" punishment from your stablemaster or so for... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fukurou 534 Posted November 22, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, Mogami said: drunk driving aside, what I do realy wonder about this "Rikishi must not drive a car" (law?) is, if that is actualy inforced by law, or if its something you get "only" punishment from your stablemaster or so for... It's a sumo rule, not a law law, only punishable by NSK/stablemaster. Edited November 22, 2018 by Fukurou Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
orandashoho 720 Posted November 23, 2018 It may be a sumo rule that rikishi are not allowed to drive, but having an accident, or being a drunken driver, tends to invoke non-sumo involvement as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fukurou 534 Posted November 23, 2018 3 hours ago, orandashoho said: It may be a sumo rule that rikishi are not allowed to drive, but having an accident, or being a drunken driver, tends to invoke non-sumo involvement as well. Yes, but I read the question as being about driving in general. Since there is no rule of law against rikishi driving, if rikishi meet the legal requirements they can drive all they want in the eyes of the state. Rikishi driving is only a problem in the eyes of the NSK. As for the current case, the only legal charge being brought is for not reporting an accident (no drunk driving charge, no charge for *having* an accident - police can't prove anything like that), and the penalty for not reporting appears to be a small fine (20,000 yen). This is probably going to be a bigger thing to the NSK for breaking their rules. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mogami 6 Posted November 25, 2018 Thanks for the clarification :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kintamayama 45,158 Posted November 28, 2018 (edited) Shingaku has retired, so that's that. The Kyokai were planning on deciding his punishment tomorrow, so that's that as well.. They will still have to decide how to deal with Ootake oyakata, though. Edited November 28, 2018 by Kintamayama 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fukurou 534 Posted November 28, 2018 7 hours ago, Kintamayama said: Shingaku has retired, so that's that. The Kyokai were planning on deciding his punishment tomorrow, so that's that as well.. They will still have to decide how to deal with Ootake oyakata, though. One or two basho suspension for the oyakata? As you originally posted, not only has this been a point of education by the NSK, but this has happened before in the recent past at Ootake beya. Making it worse, Ootake-oyakata did not know his deshi had a drivers license in the first place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kintamayama 45,158 Posted November 29, 2018 (edited) Ootake Oyakata received a 6 month 20% salary cut as punishment for not keeping his drunken deshi in check. The Kyokai will be keeping him in cheque. "I got off easy. Sorry for the trouble.." he said. "I think a six-month pay cut is pretty serious," said Shibatayama Oyakata. "In the future, please show some leadership at your heya," added Hakkaku rijicho. Edited November 29, 2018 by Kintamayama 4 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
