The Japan Sumo Association announced Monday that its summer tournament, scheduled to begin May 24 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan sumo hall in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, has been canceled.
The association hopes to hold the Nagoya tournament, which will see a change in venue to the Ryogoku Kokugikan, without spectators beginning from July 19.
This marks only the third time a sumo tournament has ever been canceled.
When it held an extraordinary meeting of the board of directors on April 3, the JSA decided to push back the summer and Nagoya tournaments by two weeks each. At that point, the JSA said it would decide if the association would actually hold the two tournaments and, should it do so, how they should be held when the Golden Week holiday is over.
Since then, however, seven people within the sumo world were confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus, including stablemaster Takadagawa, formerly known as Akinoshima in the ring, and juryo-rank wrestler Hakuyozan.
The association's decision was made after the government's extension of the state of emergency through the end of this month from the original May 6 was confirmed.
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