Overview

• More than 600 women now compete in Japan’s amateur ranks, reflecting steady growth in recent years.
• Athletes were documented training in Tokyo and Tottori for this weekend’s Sumo World Championships in Bangkok.
• Keio University trains women alongside men, including 2024 middleweight world champion Rio Hasegawa, the club’s first female member since 1919.
• The nation’s largest girls’ program at Tottori Jōhoku High School has held weeklong camps since 2016, and participation has more than doubled, coach Nana Kakuda said.
• Women wear the mawashi over shirts or bodysuits, and many report teasing and bullying over body size as figures like Airi Hisano express hopes for Olympic inclusion.