According to the Japan Times, a recently disgraced sumo wrestler originally admitted that he used marijuana and also admitted that he obtained it while visiting Los Angeles. Apparantly he made this statement to a member of the Japan Sumo Association preventative measures deliberation committee.
"I obtained marijuana from a black singer during the tour of Los Angeles" the wrestler was quoted as saying.
Interesting that he allegedly stated it was a "black" singer rather then just a singer. I wonder if that was unitentional or if he had some other motivation for mentioning the marijuana suppliers race.
On Monday, the wrestler and his sumo wrestling brother each made a statement to the committee and both wrestlers stated that they were innocent.
Regarding his confession about obtaining marijuana in Los Angeles, the wrestler reportedly said "I don't remember it," and was quoted as saying, "I only understand about 80 percent Japanese."
So he is 80% fluent in Japanese but the 20% of the language he is not fluent in included his confession. Very interesting. So when he was asked where he got the marijuana, he must have thought he was saying "I did not get it from a black singer in Los Angeles". An easy mistake I'm sure.
I think the whole thing is quite unfortunate. Its all tied up into a neat little bundle that reinforces the very strong stereotypes of foreign crime and black people in Japan.
ReplyDeleteActually the whole sport of sumo has had a string of public relations disasters starting with their champion calling in sick and staying in Mongolia and then playing in a soccer match, then the beating death of a young trainee after he was forcibly held in a training school and now this.
I think the sport should try to find a way to be a little more professional without abandoning its very traditional style.
Agreed. The Wrestlers and others should respect the history and culture of the sport.
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