Japan female mayor battles men-only sumo rule

A female mayor at the centre of a fierce debate over allowing women into the sumo ring vowed Thursday never to back down as she prepared to lodge a formal protest.

"I won't give up this time around ... I'm determined to make a petition every six months," Tomoko Nakagawa told AFP before taking her case to the sumo authorities in Tokyo.

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AFP / Kazuhiro NOGITomoko Nakagawa has vowed to continue her campaign to overturn the ban on women being allowed inside the sacred sumo ring

She has been battling for the right to make a speech from the sumo ring, something her male counterparts have regularly done.

Earlier this month, Nakagawa lost her fight to speak from a sumo ring but slammed the ban as she delivered a speech from a podium sited outside the ring.

"I'm a female mayor but I am a human being ... but because I am a woman, despite being a mayor, I cannot make a speech in the ring."

"It is regrettable and mortifying," she said, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Two days later, a male mayor delivered a speech from a ring.

- 'Safety concerns' -

The head of the sumo association, who goes by the name Hakkaku, apologised after the female nurses were ordered to leave the ring, describing it as "an inappropriate act" in a situation that involved someone's health.

But the association sparked fresh controversy after it requested girls be prevented from participating in sumo events, citing "safety concerns."

Other than the long-standing "tradition", there has been no clear reason given by the association for the ban on women being allowing inside the ring.

"Sumo is not for people with a specific religion. It is a national sport," stressed Nakagawa.

"I can't understand that it is only the sumo world that refuses to change or is even going backwards," she added.

"This is the beginning of a battle... men deliver speeches on the dohyo and women do it from below. This is embarrassing," she added.

Sumo is steeped in tradition and interwoven with Japan's native Shinto religion, but has come in for criticism because of the prohibition on women stepping foot inside the ring