Ex-stablemaster denies conspiracy in fatal hazing of sumo wrestler+

NAGOYA, Feb. 12 Kyodo - A former sumo elder denied charges Thursday that he ordered wrestlers at his
stable to haze and assault a teenage grappler who later died from related
injuries in a high-profile scandal that has marred Japan's national sport.

On the opening day of the trial at the Nagoya District Court, Junichi Yamamoto,
58, denied conspiracy in connection with the 2007 death of 17-year-old Takashi
Saito, a case that has seen three wrestlers convicted in a separate trial.
Last December, the Nagoya lower court found three wrestlers responsible for the
hazing, sentencing Yuichiro Izuka and Masakazu Kimura to three years in prison,
suspended for five years, and Masanori Fujii to two and a half years in prison,
also suspended for five years.
The court ruled that the stablemaster instructed the three to assault Saito.
The court also recognized that the excessive sparring session involving the
teen deviated from normal training and was an illegal act of violence.
On Thursday, Yamamoto admitted hitting Saito with a beer bottle and apologized
to the teenager's family. But he flatly denied ordering any of the three to
engage in violent acts as stated in the prosecution's opening arguments.
Yamamoto also argued that the excessive exercise blamed in part for Saito's
death was never intended to haze or punish him, saying it was ''done for the
purpose of discipline'' and ''was appropriate because it was aimed at
developing his strength and skills.''
''I never ordered them to assault (Saito),'' Yamamoto said in his first public
appearance since being fired by the Japan Sumo Association in October 2007,
four months before his arrest along with the three wrestlers. Yamamoto went by
the name of Tokitsukaze while he was a sumo elder.
''What I did was to discipline him and not meant to impose a punishment. But
there was negligence on my side and I apologize to his parents for it,''
Yamamoto said, admitting to his failure to properly oversee training.
A supporter of the stable said from the witness stand that the training in
question was so harsh that he thought it might have been arranged to punish
Saito in some way.
Yamamoto's defense counsel insisted that Saito's death did not result from a
criminal act by the stablemaster and argued that a lesser charge of
''negligence'' be applied.
The defense said the three wrestlers carried out the hazing and the assault by
themselves, not under the direction of the stablemaster, and the beating of
Saito with a beer bottle did not directly cause his death.
At the time of the incident, Saito was wrestling in a low ''jonokuchi''
division under the ring name Tokitaizan, just one month after the native of
Niigata Prefecture made his professional sumo debut.
According to the court, the three wrestlers and Yamamoto face charges of
conspiring to beat Saito and subjecting him to excessive exercise at their
lodgings and training space in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, on June 25-26, 2007,
in the run-up to a tournament in nearby Nagoya.
The three beat Saito with a wooden stick under instructions from Yamamoto, who
was upset that the teenager had fled the lodgings.
Still angry about Saito's indecisive behavior the next morning, they subjected
the victim to an excessive sparring session for about 30 minutes, during which
they slammed him on the ground and beat him with a metal bat. Saito collapsed
after the session and died at a hospital in the afternoon.
The cause of death was initially attributed to acute heart failure, leading the
police to determine there was no foul play.
But an autopsy conducted at the request of the victim's family later revealed
that Saito had actually died from shock as a result of multiple trauma.
After another autopsy confirmed the cause of death, police arrested Yamamoto
and the three wrestlers in February last year on suspicion of inflicting
injuries resulting in the death of the young wrestler.
The latest trial session opened amid a series of scandals that have tarnished
the image of Japan's ancient sport, including persistent match-fixing scandals
and the arrests of four wrestlers in the past six months for smoking marijuana.
==Kyodo