Society | May 05

May sumo tournament to be canceled

May 05 (NHK) - The Japan Sumo Association is set to cancel its May tournament as the government is preparing to extend the nationwide state of emergency for the coronavirus outbreak until the end of the month.

Multiple sources said that it is difficult for the association to go ahead with the summer grand tournament while the state of emergency is in effect.

The tournament, which was originally scheduled to begin early May in Tokyo, was delayed by two weeks until May 24.

The previous tournament in March was held without a live audience for the first time.

It will be the first tournament to be canceled since spring of 2011 when the association faced a series of match fixing scandals.

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