Indonesia To Hold Sumo Tournament

Jakarta, April 18 (Antara) - Indonesia will organize a traditional Japanese Sumo wrestling to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the Indonesian and Japanese diplomatic relations. "The tournament is planned to be held on August 24-25 at Senayan sport stadium, Jakarta," Indonesia-Japan Friendship Association Chairman Rachmat Gobel said here Thursday, after reporting the planned event to Indonesian Vice President Boediono. About 45 sumo wrestlers from different levels and different countries will participate in the tournament. The sumo wrestling tournament is an important event to establish closer friendship between the two countries. "The sport is Japanese customary in particular, and it is usually difficult to be done abroad, but it will be held in Indonesia to commemorate the 55 years of the diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Japan," Rachmat said. The sumo tournament is also expected to encourage the Indonesian people to love traditional sports. Sumo as a traditional Japanese sport has been well maintained for thousands of years by the Japanese community. "So we can follow the example of their spirit to do so," he said. Rachmat was accompanied by three Sumo wrestlers in the meeting with Vice President Boediono, namely Baruto Kaito (Kaido Hevelson) from Estonia, Kosaku Satoyama from Japan and Takayuki Minami. The wrestlers were wearing black traditional Japanese clothing (kimono). Among those present in the meeting were Deputy Ambassador of Japan to Indonesia Makita Shimokaw, Deputy Ambassador of Japan to ASEAN Takako Ito, Gotanda Denshi President Takuji Yoshida who is concurrently as a promoter, and Toyota representative Hideo Suzuki.