TOKYO — 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 ...

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 ...

The sumo ring has always been a “sacred” arena where “only men may tread, bound by centuries of ritual and pride”, said The Japan Times. But now that Japan has elected its first female prime minister, ...

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, ...

While women remain excluded from professional sumo, more than 600 now compete at the amateur level. The Associated Press documented some of them in training, including wrestlers preparing for the Sumo ...

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, ...