Sumo Heavies Throw Weight Behind Crime Fighting

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Sumo Heavies Throw Weight Behind Crime Fighting

TOKYO (Reuters) - Massive sumo wrestlers used to muscling loincloth-clad rivals out of the ring in Japan's national sport are being mobilized to fight rising crime.

About 10 wrestlers from Isenoumi Stable, as sumo gyms are known, began nightly patrols in their neighborhood in the east of Tokyo this week, hoping their bulk would deter would-be crooks.

"Our stablemaster thought that as crimes such as arson were frequent in the neighborhood, we should cooperate to prevent it, so he suggested the patrols," an official at the stable said.

Crime is on the rise in Japan, though the country is still safe by international standards.

Police said they welcomed the assistance from the sumo heavies, whose average weight of 157 kg (345 pounds) could well give a potential criminal pause for thought.

"We hope the wrestlers...will assist us in getting the upper hand on troublemakers," the Asahi Shimbun newspaper quoted local police chief Yoichi Takahashi as saying.