Police question Hakuho on assault case

November 28, 2017

Fukuoka- Police questioned yokozuna sumo grand champion Hakuho on Tuesday as a witness in an investigation into an alleged assault by Harumafuji, another yokozuna, against a junior sumo wrestler, informed sources told Jiji Press.

For the questioning, the Tottori prefectural police department dispatched investigators to the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka, where Hakuho is currently staying, the sources said.

Hakuho, a Mongolian, was present at a drinking party in late October in the western Japan city of Tottori, the scene of the alleged assault.

The police department has already questioned Harumafuji, 33, also a Mongolian, on a voluntary basis over the assault.

It has also questioned Takanoiwa, 27, the Mongolian sumo wrestler allegedly beaten by Harumafuji, as well as two other Mongolian wrestlers who attended the party--yokozuna Kakuryu and sekiwake Terunofuji--as witnesses.

The police department waited until the end of the Kyushu grand sumo tournament in Fukuoka, which ran through Sunday, to question Hakuho. Takanoiwa and Kakuryu were absent throughout the tournament, while Harumafuji and Terunofuji dropped out in the middle.

During the Oct. 17 police questioning, Harumafuji admitted that he hit Takanoiwa with his bare hands and a karaoke-machine remote control while denying that he used a beer bottle to attack the junior wrestler. The yokozuna also denied that he jumped on top of Takanoiwa and continued to hit him for a long time.

Hakuho has said that Harumafuji did not use a beer bottle and did not jump on Takanoiwa to hit him.

As conflicting reports have been made about the motive of the alleged assault, the police department is seen to have asked Hakuho to give detailed explanations about the drinking party's objectives, the reasons why he joined the gathering and who tried to stop the violence.

At the party from the night of Oct. 25 to the early hours of the following day, Harumafuji allegedly assaulted Takanoiwa as he got mad at the junior wrestler for using his smartphone while being scolded by the yokozuna.

Takanoiwa filed an assault complaint with the police department on Oct. 29. The department is investigating the case. Jiji Press