original_query: What was the significance of Inoki's conversion to Shia Islam in 1990? What is the most relevant chunk to answer the query?
query: What was the significance of Muhammad Hussain Inoki's conversion to Shia Islam in 1990?
answer: Inoki converted to Shia Islam during a 1990 trip to Iraq where he was negotiating the release of Japanese hostages.  This conversion was publicly revealed in 2012, when he also announced his name change to Muhammad Hussain Inoki.