[Janelle Ward]

There are big changes afoot in Japan, specifically in sumo wrestling.

Sumo wrestlers are getting a makeover – relating to body shape. They’re set to be thinner and shorter.

The Japan Sumo Association has dropped a rule stipulating that professional wrestlers must be at least 167cm tall and weigh 67kg, provided they pass a fitness test. The change is intended to address a drastic fall that in the number of young men seeking to become rikishi.

From a high of 160 in 1992, there were only 34 applicants in the latest peak recruiting period. Media reports state that aspiring wrestlers were known to drink water before the weigh-in to meet the requirement. At least one had a silicone implant to make himself taller.

The slump is being blamed on falling birth rates, which have caused the population to shrink by about 2 million since the peak, in 2008, of 128.1 million.

Sumo has also been shaken by scandals involving match fixing, gambling and the enforced retirement of a grand champion after he broke a junior wrestler’s skull with a beer bottle. In 2018, it emerged that a senior referee had sexually assaulted a junior.

Have you ever watched a sumo wrestling match?

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