All-time great wrestler Hakuho quits Japan Sumo Association with plans to form global body

TOKYO (AP) — Hakuho, a retired “yokozuna” or grand champion and viewed by many as the sport's greatest wrestler, has quit the Japan Sumo Association after an apparent falling out with the governing body of the ancient sport.

He made it official on Monday.

The Mongolia-born Hakuho was earlier sanctioned by the Japan Sumo Association, accused of failing to control the behavior of a wrestler in his so-called stable, the term used for a training team headed by retired wrestlers.

Hakuho’s stable was closed a year ago. Japanese media reports say the wrestler in question engaged in physical violence. But closing a stable, instead of just punishing an individual wrestler, was unusual.

He did not directly criticize the professional Japan Sumo Association, but he said wrestlers who had trained under him were treated unfairly.

Hakuho, who was granted Japanese citizenship, said he had been in talks with the association but recently decided to quit because there was no hope of reopening his stable.

“After 25 years of loving sumo and being loved by sumo, I want to advance toward a new dream,” Hakuho told reporters Monday at a Tokyo hotel.

Hakuho said he wants to create a body to govern sumo outside Japan — the “world sumo project.” He called it a “new dream” to “expand sumo to the world."

“When I think of my situation, I think it’s best to contribute to sumo from the outside,” he said, wearing a dark suit and referring to the Japan Sumo Association.

The Japan Sumo Association declined comment on Hakuho resignation and plans.

Appearing with a lawyer and other officials he had tapped for his team, Hakuho said they were getting corporate sponsors to back sumo grand slams, which draw amateur sumo wrestlers from around the world, including children and women.

Hakuho said he was friends with Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Akio Toyoda, who has expressed interest in supporting his efforts. Toyota already supports various amateur and professional sports activities.

Toyota confirmed Toyoda's friendship with Hakuho.

“He (Hakuho) is devoted to trying to bring the world closer together through sumo,” the company quoted Toyoda as saying in a statement.

Many regard the Mongolia-born Hakuho as the greatest champion in the sport's history and he holds many of its records.

Hakuho’s late-father, who went by the given name of Monkhbat, was an Olympic silver medalist for Mongolia in 1968. He also competed in at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Sumo encompasses very strict rules and traditions that have prompted other top wrestlers to pursue careers outside the sport.

Hakuho retired from active wrestling in 2021.

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FILE - Mongolian grand champion Hakuho, left, topples champion Takayasu to win their bout during the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament in Nagoya, central Japan, Friday, July 21, 2017. (Yoshiaki Sakamoto/Kyodo News, File)

Hakuho Sho, a retired "yokozuna" or grand champion of sumo Hakuho, speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, Monday, June 9, 2025, to deliver a farewell message following the reported acceptance of his resignation and to outline his future plans. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Hakuho Sho, a retired "yokozuna" or grand champion of sumo Hakuho, speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, Monday, June 9, 2025, to deliver a farewell message following the reported acceptance of his resignation and to outline his future plans. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko))

Hakuho Sho, a retired "yokozuna" or grand champion of sumo Hakuho, wipes his face during a press conference in Tokyo, Monday, June 9, 2025, to deliver a farewell message following the reported acceptance of his resignation and to outline his future plans. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Hakuho Sho, a retired “yokozuna” or grand champion of sumo, Hakuho, walks to the venue for a press conference in Tokyo, Monday, June 9, 2025, to deliver a farewell message following the reported acceptance of his resignation. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Hakuho Sho, a retired “yokozuna” or grand champion of sumo, Hakuho, bows during a press conference in Tokyo, Monday, June 9, 2025, to deliver a farewell message following the reported acceptance of his resignation. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)