Tokyo (AFP)
The closed world of sumo confirmed on Friday a first case of coronavirus within it, a blow for this ancestral sport of which a tournament had already been done behind closed doors and others were postponed.
A lower-ranking wrestler who had a fever last week tested positive, the Japanese sumo federation said, refusing to disclose the man's identity or the team it belongs.
No other wrestler or official has symptoms, the federation added, saying that people belonging to the brotherhood of the infected wrestler would stay at home or in the stable and follow the advice of health workers.
The epidemic is currently much smaller in Japan than in many countries, with more than 5,300 reported cases and 88 deaths. But faced with a recent spike in infections, the Japanese government declared a state of emergency in seven regions this week.
The sumo federation has not however given up on daily training but the wrestlers must take their temperature twice a day.
The "tokoyama" in charge of the traditional hairstyle in an oiled bun for wrestlers is enjoined not to use public transport when he goes to the stable, a spokesman told AFP.
"We wear masks when possible, we wash our hands, we disinfect them. We are taking normal preventive measures," said a young wrestler to AFP on condition of anonymity, confirming that the daily exercises continued.
"We do not go to other brotherhoods for training. We only practice in our stable." "We only go out to shop. There is a lot of stress in many people," he added.
The announcement of this coronavirus case comes a week after the association had to postpone two tournaments. The next "basho", which was due to open on May 10 in Tokyo, has been postponed for two weeks and the July one in Nagoya has suffered the same fate.
The spring "basho", organized in the large metropolis of western Osaka, took place in an empty arena, in front of a handful of referees and television cameras.
The wrestlers live in a hierarchical community within stables or brotherhoods, "heya" in Japanese and the non-titular ones sleep in common rooms on tatami mats.
© 2020 AFP