life-threatening it was an inappropriate response." 5: Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture 6: Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture. The female mayor of Takarazuka, who had to stand next to the dohyo instead of entering it at the exhibition, meets with the Sumo Association's public relations chief Shibatayama on April 18, and asks that they reconsider the longstanding "no women" policy. 7: Kariya, Aichi Prefecture 8: Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture 9: Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture 10: Ina, Nagano Prefecture 11: Tomi, Nagano Prefecture 12: Soka, Saitama Prefecture 13: Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture 14: Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture 15: Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture 16: Yasukuni Shrine Honozumo, Tokyo Prefecture 18-19: Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture 20: Machida, Tokyo Prefecture 21: Hachioji, Tokyo Prefecture 22: Ome, Tokyo Prefecture 24: Toride, Ibaraki Prefecture 25: Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture 27: Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture 28: At an extraordinary meeting of its board, the Sumo Association clarifies that women can enter the dohyo in an emergency situation and will consider outside opinions from experts and members of the public over whether its ban should be overturned. 30: The banzuke for the upcoming Natsu tournament in May is released. Kyokutaisei makes his makuuchi debut, while Sadanoumi, Takekaze and Aminishiki return. Endō makes his sanyaku debut at komusubi. There are two new promotions to jūryō, Takadagawa stable's and former Toyo University amateur Wakatakakage, who becomes the third sandanme tsukedashi entrant to reach sekitori status. Asabenkei returns to jūryō for the first time since September 2016. May 11: Former maegashira announces his retirement. Last year he became the oldest winner of the makushita division championship in the six tournaments a year era. He plans to work for an electronic recycling company in Kanagawa Prefecture. 11: The Tagonoura stable duo of Kisenosato and Takayasu both announce they will miss the beginning of the May tournament. For Kisenosato it will be the seventh straight basho he has failed to complete, equaling the unwanted record of most yokozuna absences post-1958 set by Takanohana who sat out seven full tournaments in 2001 and 2002. Takanohana did make a successful comeback with a 12–3 record in September 2002 and tells Kisenosato, "He should take his time to heal. As long as he's fighting he should be in top shape. The key is not to rush." Kisenosato's stablemaster Tagonoura says doctors have told the yokozuna he should stay away from intense training for a month, and will "fight for his life" when he next competes in July. Takayasu