Two Russian sumo wrestlers tested positive for marijuana this morning before a meet in Tokyo and have been since suspended. The two men, aged 26 and 28 go by the names Roho and Hakurozan are also brothers. Local restaurants immediately logged a protest with the sumo federation claiming that this suspension will irreparably damage their livelihoods as the two brothers were responsible for 58% of the local sales of chips and oreos.

Do you know 宮崎駿 (Hayao Miyazaki)?

The Japanese master animation artist who made classic アニメ (anime (cartoons)) such as 「となりのトトロ」 (My Neighbor Totoro), 「もののけ姫」 (Princess Mononoke), 「千と千尋の神隠し」 (Spirited Away), 「ハウルの動く城」 (Howl’s Moving Castle) and many others.

I’m not a anime fan…but his movies are excellent!

He just brought his new movie, 「崖の上のポニョ」 (Ponyo On The Cliff), to the Venice International Film Festival.

After the movie’s screening, he received a standing ovation and he was mobbed by international fans.
Movie critics are giving the movie four or five stars.

As I said, I’m not an anime fan. So I won’t be going to a 映画館 (movie theater) to watch this…but when it’s shown on cable TV, I’ll watch it.

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I mentioned in this post that the Russian sumo wrestler, Wakanohou, was arrested for drug possession (which isn’t taken lightly in Japan).

Because of that, all of the other sumo wrestlers had to summit to drug testing…and two more Russian Sumo wrestlers failed the test.

The brothers, Roho and Hakurozan, submitted the tests that tested positive for marijuana…just like their Russian counterpart Wakanohou. They face the possibility of deportation…as well as a life ban from Sumo.

Breaking news!  Two more Russian sumo wrestlers have tested positive for marijuana usage.  Roho and Hakurozan, two Russian brothers, have appealed after having urine tests return positive for marijuana use.  If the tests are found to be accurate, the two will face expulsion from professional sumo in Japan… something that Wakanoho found out last month.

As mentioned last month when reporting on Wakanoho, although it may seem to many foreigners as an amazing exaggeration of what’s a decriminalized drug in most western nations, in Japan there’s no delineation between ‘hard’ and ’soft’ drugs.

If found to be accurate tests, besides getting the boot from sumo, Roho (a komusubi) and Hakurozan (a maegashira) could face criminal prosecution, which given their status could possibly mean getting expelled from Japan.

This is yet another hit to sumo, which has to be reeling from the constant trouble the sport’s members attract.