up". Stable masters have often been proud to show to the media how they frequently use a shinai to beat those who fall out of line, and elder wrestlers are often put in charge of bullying younger ones to keep them in line, for instance, by making them hold heavy objects for long periods of time. Also, the strict sumo hierarchy where senior and high-ranking wrestlers take responsbility to train their juniors often led to violence as in sumo the rank is a symbol of status. The system of hazing was widely criticized in late 2007. A hazing scandal was exposed in which a Tokitsukaze stable's 17-year-old sumo trainee died after a serious bullying incident involving his stablemaster Jun'ichi Yamamoto hitting him on the head with a large beer bottle and fellow rikishi being subsequently ordered to physically abuse him further. The stablemaster and three other wrestlers who were involved were arrested in February 2008, after which Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda demanded the JSA take steps to ensure such an incident never happens again. In May 2009, Yamamoto was sentenced to six years in jail. Violence affairs also came up to light in 2017, when Japanese newspaper Sports Nippon reported that yokozuna Harumafuji had assaulted fellow Mongolian wrestler Takanoiwa during a regional sumo tour in Tottori in late October. According to the report and other sources, Harumafuji was drinking with other sumo wrestlers (including Hakuhō, Kakuryū and Terunofuji) and was admonishing Takanoiwa over his behavior. Angered that Takanoiwa was looking at his cell phone at the time, Harumafuji struck him in the head with a beer bottle and punched him 20 to 30 times. Harumafuji was then questioned by the Sumo Association's crisis management panel, where he admitted to assaulting Takanoiwa. On October 25, 2018, the Association issued a statement introducing external experts involved in training, operation of procedures, and other measures to prevent the recurrence of violence. However, this did not stop the violence scandals, and, on December 26, 2022, Isegahama-oyakata announced his resignation as director after a case of violence, where two junior wrestlers in his stable acted violently against younger wrestlers, with the victims beaten with wooden beams and burned with chankonabe hot water poured on their backs. Communication Logo The Japan Sumo Association, like most institutions, owns a mon. The design is based on cherry blossom, which is the national flower of Japan. Around the