Finally arrested

Arrests made in death of sumo wrestler

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Masanori Fujii, one of three arrested wrestlers, enters Inuyama Police Station in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, on Thursday.

NAGOYA--A former sumo stablemaster was arrested Thursday on suspicion of assault resulting in the death of a 17-year-old wrestler in June, police said.

The former Tokitsukaze stablemaster, whose real name is Junichi Yamamoto, was arrested along with three wrestlers from the stable over the death of Tokitaizan, whose real name was Takashi Saito, after apparent hazing. The three wrestlers are Yuichiro Izuka, 25 (known as Doto), Masanori Fujii, 22 (Tokiomaru), Masakazu Kimura, 24 (Akiyutaka).

Yamamoto, 57, became the first person to be arrested over a sumo-related incident that took place when he was a stablemaster.

According to the Aichi prefectural police and Inuyama Police Station, Yamamoto, the three arrested wrestlers and four others assaulted Saito during training sessions between 12:40 p.m. on June 25 and 11:30 a.m. on June 26 at the stable's temporary lodgings in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, where they were staying ahead of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament. Saito collapsed after full-contact practice called butsukarigeiko on June 26. He was sent to the hospital but died later the same day.

Yamamoto allegedly hit Saito over the head with a beer bottle on June 25 after the wrestler tried to flee the stable's lodgings. Yamamoto also allegedly told the three wrestlers to assault Saito. During the butsukarigeiko, he allegedly hit Saito with a wooden stick.

According to the police, Yamamoto admitted to hitting Saito with a beer bottle, but he denied it was because Saito had tried to escape. Yamamoto also denied having instructed the wrestlers to assault Saito.

Izuka and Fujii basically admitted to the allegations, but Kimura said he believed he was disciplining Saito.

The police plan to send papers on four other wrestlers suspected of taking part in the assault.

The police initially said Saito died from illness, but an autopsy at Niigata University found he died from traumatic shock. Later, an examination by Nagoya University specialists of Saito's body tissue also found a connection between the assault and his death.

Butsukarigeiko involves a wrestler repeatedly pushing an inert opponent, who is in a brace position, across the ring. It is designed to build stamina and usually occurs at the end of training sessions. Normally lasting for a maximum of five minutes, it is not uncommon for wrestlers to vomit after such training. Police say Saito was forced to undergo the training for about 30 minutes.

Yamamoto was dismissed by the Japan Sumo Association in October over the scandal.

JSA Chairman Kitanoumi lamented the arrest of Yamamoto and the three others Thursday night. "It's so regrettable that sumo wrestlers have been arrested," Kitanoumi said at a press conference held at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.

The chairman said he hoped the four would cooperate with the police investigation. Referring to a possible punishment by the JSA on the four, he said, "We'll take measures that we think necessary while looking at a future judicial judgment."

He added that the JSA committee set up after the incident to examine ways to prevent a recurrence will take measures to handle the case.
(Feb. 8, 2008)
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力士傷害致死、元時津風親方と兄弟子３人を逮捕　

　大相撲の時津風部屋の序ノ口力士だった斉藤俊(たかし)さん（当時１７歳）＝しこ名・時太山(ときたいざん)＝が急死した事件で、愛知県警捜査１課と犬山署は７日、制裁目的で２日間にわたって暴行を繰り返して斉藤さんを死亡させたとして、元時津風親方の山本順一容疑者（５７）（元小結双津竜）と兄弟子３人を傷害致死容疑で逮捕した。また、県警は同署に特別捜査本部を設置した。大相撲にかかわる事件で当時の親方が逮捕されたのは初めて。
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　逮捕された兄弟子３人は、伊塚雄一郎（２５）（しこ名・怒濤(どとう)）、藤居正憲(まさのり)（２２）（時王丸(ときおうまる)）、木村正和（２４）（明義豊(あきゆたか)）の３容疑者。県警は、暴行に加わったほかの４人の兄弟子も同容疑で書類送検する方針だ。

　調べによると、山本容疑者と兄弟子３人は、ほかの兄弟子４人と共謀し、昨年６月２５日午後０時４０分ごろから死亡当日の２６日午前１１時半ごろにかけて、愛知県犬山市の宿舎裏やけいこ場で、制裁しようと企て金属バットや木の棒で斉藤さんを殴打するなど、複数回にわたって暴行を繰り返し、外傷性ショックで死亡させた疑い。

　山本容疑者は２５日夕、食事の席で斉藤さんの額をビール瓶で殴打したうえ、兄弟子らに「お前らも教えてやれ」「鉄砲柱に縛りつけとけ」などと指示。２６日午前も、通常５分程度が限界とされる「ぶつかりげいこ」を約３０分続け、兄弟子たちはこの中でも殴るけるの暴行を加えたほか、山本容疑者が木の棒で殴った。

　調べに対し、山本容疑者はビール瓶で殴ったことは認めたが、「脱走したから殴ったわけではない」と供述。伊塚容疑者らに自らが指示したことなども否認している。兄弟子３人のうち、伊塚、藤居両容疑者は容疑をほぼ認め、木村容疑者は「しつけと教育のつもりだった」と犯意を否認している。

　当初、斉藤さんの死因は病死とされたが、出身地にある新潟大の組織検査で外傷性ショック死と判明。さらに名古屋大での再検査結果や兄弟子らのこれまでの証言などから、県警は２日間にわたる暴行と死亡の因果関係が立証できると判断した。
（2008年2月7日23時38分 読売新聞）（2008年2月7日23時38分 読売新聞