FORMER YOKOZUNA AKEBONO DIES AT 54
Taro Akebono, a U.S.-born sumo wrestler who paved the way for the sport, has died. His family announced the news in a statement on April 11, 2024.
He died of heart failure at a Japanese hospital at the age of 54.
Akebono (birth name Chad George Haheo Lowen), born in the U.S. state of Hawaii, was the first non-Japanese to be promoted to yokozuna.
In a statement, Akebono’s family said, “It is with deep sadness that we announce that Taro Akebono passed away this month due to heart failure. He was receiving treatment at a Tokyo hospital,” they explained. Akebono’s family recalled that “as the 64th yokozuna, Akebono led the sumo boom and accomplished many great feats, including 11 championships.”
Akebono became a Japanese citizen in 1996 after his promotion to yokozuna in 1993, retired from active sumo in 2001, and made his debut in 2003 with K1, a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion.
According to the Japan Sumo Association, he was rushed to the hospital after a wrestling match in 2005 and has not been in good health since.
Akebono has one wife, one daughter, and two sons.
The official Japanese-language website of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recalled on X (formerly Twitter) that Akebono “performed a dignified ring-entering ceremony for the people of the world” at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Emanuel also praised Akebono for “opening the door for other foreign wrestlers to succeed in sumo” and for “strengthening the cultural ties between the United States and Japan, which has become his second home.
CNN JAPAN
April 11, 2024
https://www.cnn.co.jp/showbiz/35217694.html
