was no precedent for demoting them, allowing Osaka-sumo to save face. Later that year, the first chairman of the Association, Lieutenant-General Hirose Masanori, was named. From 1933 to 1937, the Greater Japan Sumo Association briefly experienced a secession during the . The strike of the wreslters led to the foundation of the Kansai Sumo Association (Kansai Kakuryoku Kyokai, 関西角力協会) by members of the Dewanoumi ichimon. The secessionist association later dissolved. In 1944, the first successor from the sumo world was chosen and former Tsunenohana became chairman of the Association. After the war, the Association was further modernized. Due to sumo being seen as the national sport, the Association was ancillaried to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 1958 as a Special Incorporated Foundation and named Japan Sumo Association. In 2014, it shifted to a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation. Missions In order to maintain and develop the traditions and order of Sumo, the Association is mainly responsible for holding competitive tournaments (called honbasho) in January, March, May, July, September and November. The Association also holds regional tours (called ). The Japan Sumo Association holds these tournaments each year with different purposes for each kind. Main tournaments are televised and help to maintain the interest of sumo as a sport by broadcasting the competitions. The jungyō meanwhile are important for the popularity of wrestlers and allow fans to meet them in the form of meet and greet events. The Association is also responsible for the recruitment, instruction and training of rikishi via the heya system or the Sumo School. Although not all wrestlers are salaried (only sekitori ranked wrestlers are), the Association provides a small allowance to all of them when they enter Grand Sumo. Depending on the wrestler's performance during tournaments, the Association is also responsible of the wrestlers ranking. As wrestlers are not the only employees of the Association, it also oversees the recruitment of yobidashi, tokoyama and gyōji to maintain the traditional settings of Sumo. Non-traditional occupations are also the responsibility of the Association, in particular to maintain the operation of businesses linked to the Association (such as the Kokugikan sales department, the restaurant or the yakitori skewer factory). Bearing the responsibility of the sport's long history, the Association oversees the preservation and utilization of sumo archives. It also collects various types of objects linked to sumo wrestlers (such as , tachi or tsuna belts)