Japan’s first female Prime Minister has declared she will never set foot on a sumo wrestling ring, defending the centuries-old tradition that bars women from the sacred “dohyo,” even as the practice faces renewed scrutiny in the modern era.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made her position clear during a campaign speech in Fukuoka, addressing a controversy that has simmered since she assumed office as the nation’s 104th prime minister last October.
“I respect tradition,” Takaichi stated firmly. “Women cannot step onto the sumo ring. Some female politicians have expressed anger about this, but this isn’t about gender equality or anything like that. This is about Japan’s traditions that have been carefully protected.”
The Prime Minister’s comments came as she explained her decision to send male representatives to award the Prime Minister’s Cup at recent sumo tournaments, rather than presenting the trophy herself.
At the November Grand Sumo Tournament in Kyushu, Prime Minister’s Assistant Takahiro Inoue delivered the cup on her behalf while she attended the G20 Summit in South Africa. More recently, Education Minister Yohei Matsumoto handled the duty at the January tournament’s final day.
The practice of excluding women from the sumo ring stems from Shinto beliefs about ritual purity, with the elevated clay platform considered sacred ground. While male prime ministers like Junichiro Koizumi and Shigeru Ishiba have personally presented awards on the dohyo, Takaichi has chosen to maintain the restriction, even though her position as head of government would typically grant her the honor.
The debate extends beyond symbolism. Past incidents have highlighted the tension between tradition and contemporary values. Female mayors and officials have been prevented from entering the ring during emergencies and ceremonies, sparking public discussions about whether such restrictions remain appropriate in modern Japanese society.
Yet while Japan maintains these strict boundaries domestically, the international sumo community tells a different story. Outside Japan’s borders, women have competed at the highest levels of the sport, proving their capability in an arena traditionally dominated by male “rikishi.”
Svitlana Yaromka, a 34-year-old athlete from Ukraine, exemplifies this phenomenon. Often regarded as one of the finest female sumo wrestlers in history, Yaromka has accumulated an impressive collection of international honors.
At the first World Combat Games in Beijing, China, in 2010, she secured a silver medal. Her performance at the 2013 World Games in Cali, Colombia, earned her a bronze medal in the openweight category.
Most recently, at the World Games in Birmingham in July 2022, Yaromka demonstrated her prowess by capturing both bronze and gold medals in the openweight and heavyweight divisions respectively. Standing at approximately 500 pounds (227 kilograms), she has dominated international competitions where cultural and religious restrictions step aside.
Remarkably, sumo represents only a secondary pursuit for Yaromka. Her primary discipline is judo, competing in the heavyweight division above 78 kilograms. In that arena, she has earned recognition as one of the most accomplished heavyweight judokas, with bronze at the 2015 European Games and silver medals at the European Championships in 2016 and 2017. Her two gold medals came at IJF Grand Prix events in Uzbekistan in 2014 and Azerbaijan in 2015.
The contrast between domestic tradition and international competition reveals the complexity of this cultural question. While women like Yaromka excel on the global stage, Japan’s sumo establishment maintains its prohibition, viewing the restriction not as discrimination but as preservation of spiritual practices intertwined with the sport.
Critics of the ban argue that excluding half the population from such a significant cultural institution sends troubling messages about women’s place in Japanese society. Some commentators have noted the contradiction of having a female prime minister who refuses to challenge this particular barrier, suggesting it represents an accommodation to conservative power structures rather than progress.
Supporters counter that not every tradition must bend to contemporary pressures, and that respecting cultural practices demonstrates understanding rather than weakness. They argue that maintaining certain sacred spaces and rituals provides continuity and meaning in rapidly changing times.
For now, Prime Minister Takaichi has drawn her line in the sand—or rather, in the clay of the dohyo.
