It appears that Japan's first female prime minister will not be trying to upend a centuries-old tradition: the idea that women can't enter the sumo wrestling ring. Previous Japanese leaders have handed out the trophy at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo, which wrapped up on Sunday, but Sanae Takaichi did not do the honors, reports the Washington Post. The sport's rules bar women from stepping onto the dohyo, or ring.
Takaichi, who took office last month, is a conservative who has not been seen as a staunch defender of women's rights throughout her political career, per NBC News. She has been largely able to sidestep discussion of the sumo ring tradition this time around, because she is instead attending the G20 summit in South Africa. But Japanese political analysts suggest that even broaching the idea in the future would anger her powerful political base. "They don't want to even see a discussion around the topic," says Hiromi Murakami of Temple University.
The Japan Sumo Association, for its part, says it hasn't heard from Takaichi's office and remains committed to preserving sumo's legacy. The association has a track record of keeping women out of the ring: It blocked similar attempts by high-ranking women in 1990, 2000, and 2018, even apologizing after ordering two women out of the ring when they tried to help a collapsed mayor.
So might Takaichi turn up at the next major tournament? Don't bet on it: "Takaichi will not go up—never," Hidenori Ukai, visiting religious studies professor at Taisho University, tells the Post. "She's conservative, traditionally minded. … Reviving religious or ideological debates wouldn't benefit her politically."
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