Don’t miss the full story, whose reporting from Reeno Hashimoto and Koji Ueda at The Associated Press is the basis of this AI-assisted article. While professional sumo wrestling in Japan maintains its ...

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 ...

TOKYO (AP) — For centuries, sumo’s deep links with the Shinto religion barred women from entering the ring, let alone allowing them to participate. While women remain excluded from professional sumo, ...

THE TWO young contenders grab at each other’s loincloths. A referee keeps up the shout of “nokotta nokotta”, indicating that the wrestlers are still in the game. Suddenly one lunges forward, sending ...

TOKYO — As Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi has broken new ground in a country that struggles with gender equality. But she has quickly run up against a tradition that may be ...

TOKYO (AP) — Sumo is more than a sport in Japan. It’s a sacred tradition, a 1,500-year-old spectacle steeped in Shinto ritual and ceremony. But at its heart lies a long-standing taboo: women are still ...

TOKYO -- Sanae Takaichi made history by becoming Japan's first female prime minister in October. She must now decide whether she'll break another barrier: the taboo barring women from the sumo ring.

But the sound of bare feet padding, and bodies thudding on the mat of a sports hall in Belfast signals an unlikely first - ...

TOKYO (AP) — Sanae Takaichi made history by becoming Japan’s first female prime minister in October. She must now decide whether she’ll break another barrier: the taboo barring women from the sumo ...

FILE - Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, on Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool) TOKYO (AP) — Sanae Takaichi ...