At a meeting of the sumo yokozuna deliberation committee, Chairman Masayuki Yamauchi praised Takakatsu Ozeki, who won his fourth title in Akikata, as "fulfilling his awareness and responsibility as an ōzeki."
The Yokozuna Deliberation Committee met at the Kokugikan in Tokyo on the evening of the 25th, and Chairman Yamauchi held a press conference after the meeting.
Commenting on Kikagekatsu, who returned from injuries to both knees in Akikata and won his fourth title, he said, "Although the score of 4 wins and 11 losses was a little low even from a historical point of view, I fulfilled my awareness and responsibility as an Ozeki.
In principle, the conditions for recommending a yokozuna by the Yokozuna Deliberation Committee to a yokozuna are "two consecutive championships at Ozeki," and the internal regulations stipulate that "when recommending a sumo wrestler with equivalent performance, a resolution of two-thirds or more of the committee members present is required."
On the other hand, the referees of the Japan Sumo Association, which is in charge of discussions on yokozuna promotion, did not say whether the next "rope tori" would take place in Kyushu, but said, "We will have to wait until Chiakiraku."
Regarding this, Chairman Yamauchi expressed the view that "if many conditions and assumptions are satisfied, there will be expectations that the place will be 'roped', and I think it will be judged based on the attitude of the place as a whole and the final result of the star selection."
Regarding Yokozuna Terunofuji, who was suspended for two consecutive places due to a hip injury, he said, "It has become difficult for me to get enough sumo wrestling, but I can appreciate his contribution to sumo and his high level of responsibility, and I would like to wait for his return."
In addition, he praised the 4-year-old Atami Fuji, who fought for the championship until the very end, saying, "I think that his unadorned personality and cheerfulness may have created new fans."