11: The Japan Sumo Association announces that 2,955 envelopes of prize money (called kenshō-kin) will be distributed to winning wrestlers at the upcoming January grand sumo tournament, setting an all-time record.[2] On the following day–the first day of the tournament–244 prize money envelopes are distributed, establishing a single-day record.[3] Among the sponsor banners paraded during the tournament are those promoting the future Major League Baseball Tokyo Series games, featuring photos of Shohei Ohtani and other Japanese baseball players.[4]
12: Maegashira competitors Rōga and Hokutofuji withdraw at the start of the January tournament. Roga suffered a torn thigh muscle a week earlier and is reported to be considering entry into the tournament while it is in progress, while Hokutofuji has spine and knee issues that are expected to take until the end of the month to heal.[5]
16: YokozunaTerunofuji withdraws on the fifth day of the January tournament after suffering a first-day loss to Wakatakakage and conceding a gold star to Tobizaru on Day 4. It is his 13th absence in 21 tournaments at sumo's highest rank.[6] Later that day, Japanese media learn through sources at the Sumo Association that Terunofuji has decided to retire.[7]
17: The Sumo Association officially announces Terunofuji's retirement.[8] His retirement threatens to leave the sport's ranking without a yokozuna for the first time since the March 1993 tournament, when Akebono was promoted to the supreme rank and occupied the position left vacant since Hokutoumi's retirement in May 1992.[9][10] He will remain with the Sumo Association coaching at Isegahama stable under his ring name of Terunofuji, which his status as a former yokozunaallows him to do.[8]
18: Rōga withdraws for a second time after re-entering the January tournament on Day 5 and suffering two consecutive losses.[11]
19: The Sumo Association announces that it will hold a sumo exhibition in the Accor Arena of Paris in June 2026, following the announcement of a 2025 London tour. The Sumo Association will be returning to Paris for the third time in its history, a first since 1995.[12] On Day 8 of the January tournament, maegashiraKitanowaka loses his match after getting his right foot trapped on the straw bales as he retreats from the attack of Takerufuji. Kitanowaka is removed from the dohyō in a wheelchair and is subsequently diagnosed with a broken ankle, forcing his withdrawal.[13]
26: ŌzekiHōshōryū (12–3), the nephew of the 68th yokozunaAsashōryū, stages a late comeback on the final day of the January 2025 tournament to win his second Emperor's Cup and, as a result, is set to become the sport's 74th yokozuna. The Mongolian entered Day 15 tied with maegashiraŌhō and one win behind maegashira and tournament leader Kinbōzan. Hōshōryū first needed help from Ōhō, who defeated Kinbōzan in their regularly-scheduled final day contest, to remain in contention. With a playoff between Kinbōzan and Ōhō assured, Hōshōryū joined the playoff by defeating struggling ōzekiKotozakura. In the three-way playoff, a wrestler needs to win two consecutive matches to claim victory. Kinbōzan and Hōshōryū drew first, and Hōshōryū powered himself to victory by force-out. In the second match Ōhō denied Hōshōryū his favorite grip from the outset; after a stalemate, Hōshōryū sent Ōhō down to the dohyō to clinch the tournament win. Hōshōryū's victory ensures that the lack of a yokozuna following the retirement of Terunofuji will be brief, as the Yokozuna Deliberation Council will meet on 27 January and is expected to formally recommend Hōshōryū's promotion. Two days after that, the full board of the Sumo Association is expected to give their final approval. The two runner-ups in the top division receive their first special prizes for their efforts, with Kinbōzan receiving the Kantō-shō (Fighting Spirit prize) and Ōhō receiving the Ginō-shō (Technique prize). A second Fighting Spirit prize is given to former ōzekiKirishima, who remained in contention for the championship until he was defeated on Day 14 and finished with 11 wins. Meanwhile Kotozakura, the other yokozuna candidate, suffers a losing record and will need to win eight matches at the next tournament in March to hold on to his ōzeki rank.[14][15] Ukrainian Shishi (13–2) takes his first career championship in professional sumo, winning the jūryō division and likely securing a return promotion to the top division.[16]
27: In a unanimous decision, the Yokozuna Deliberation Council recommends Hōshōryū's promotion to yokozuna.[17]
29: The Sumo Association accepts the recommendation of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council and unanimously promotes Hōshōryū to become the sport's 74th yokozuna.[18] The date also marks the 22nd anniversary of the promotion of Hōshōryū's uncle, Asashōryū, to the same rank. In his customary acceptance speech, Hōshōryū said that he will "continue to work hard with a strong determination in order not to tarnish" his new rank.[19] There are five promotions to the second-highest jūryō division announced by the Sumo Association. Three are promoted for the first time. One is 23-year-old Kusano [ja], a former Nihon University student who is a National Student Sumo champion and subsequent makushita tsukedashi entrant into the sport. The others are 21-year-olds Wakanoshō [ja] and Ōtsuji [ja], both of whom had placed third in the National Junior High School Sumo championships. Kazekenō [ja] returns to the second division after competing in jūryō last May, while four-time lower division champion Hitoshi [ja] returns for the first time since November 2023.[20]
30: Fuji Television decides to withdraw its broadcast of the Japan Grand Sumo Tournament, a 49-year-old charity event to be held on 9 February at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan. The decision comes after the sexual misconduct scandal of television presenter and former SMAP member Masahiro Nakai, and the subsequent withdrawal of sponsors from Fuji TV programming.[21] The Japan Sumo Association announces the suspension of Kimura Kankurō, a jūryō-ranked gyōji, for the March tournament and a pay cut after he was found to be the perpetrator of a physical assault on one of his apprentices at the November 2024 tournament.[22]
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