<figure id="attachment_351616" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 479px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351616"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="94a268b2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/12/75be1bef7865c7b85c8d4c4c56a06bd5.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351616" class="wp-caption-text">Behind the births of big couples, many people are shrugging their shoulders</figcaption></figure>
Recently, the ranking for the January Grand Sumo Tournament, which will be held at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo from January 14 to 28, was announced. The ranking of popular sumo wrestler Akeio (28) was the focus of attention among those in the entertainment industry.
 
Akeio made his first appearance in the ring in May 2023, at a time when the sumo world was being rocked by the &#8220;eight hundred rings&#8221; scandal and other issues. He was a hard worker who had steadily worked his way up the ranks, with his specialties being left yotsu and yorii. He is well-liked by his fans for his humble attitude, bowing deeply after each bout.
“In July 2021, it was reported that Kasumi Arimura (30), an actress, was dating Kaito Takahashi (24), a member of the popular former Johnny&#8217;s group King&amp;Prince.”
“At that time, Akeio himself seemed happy to talk to the reporters around him about the report. However, according to this dating report, Ms. Arimura was apparently dating Mr. Takahashi during that period. I feel so sorry for her that no one can ask Akeio about his relationship with Ms. Arimura,&#8221; said a sumo reporter.
 
Furthermore, regarding the article in the July 27, 2021 issue of &#8220;Josei Jishin&#8221; (published by Kobunsha), Arimura&#8217;s agency expressed its anger on its official website and on the Arimura staff account on &#8220;X,&#8221; saying, &#8220;It is completely untrue, and we plan to take legal action.”
As for the content of the article, Meio won the Nagoya tournament in July of the same year as the new koshoku, and he publicly stated that he was a big fan of Arimura&#8217;s. Akeio&#8217;s mentor, Tachinami Oyakata (former Asahiyoyo), was said to be on good terms with people in Arimura&#8217;s office, and he was said to have helped bring the two together. When the magazine directly contacted Akeio, he revealed that he had not yet met Arimura, but did not deny having contacted him by phone. Therefore, the magazine reported the &#8220;intimacy report&#8221; between Arimura and Akeio. 
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="In the place after the report, he was promoted to sekiwake, the highest rank in the sumo world."></div>
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“On the day the magazine&#8217;s article was published, Arimura&#8217;s office even commented that they would take legal action, but in the end there was no reaction after that. At the time, from Akeio&#8217;s side, he was probably not convinced as to why they had rejected the article so much.”
“However, when confronted with the reality that Arimura had been in a relationship with Takahashi for about three years, the reports about him in the past no longer seem like a &#8220;pipe dream&#8221;. I think she is still in a state of shock.” (Entertainment reporter) 
After the article about Arimura was published, he was promoted to sekiwake, the highest rank in sumo, in the September 2021 tournament. His appearance seemed to indicate that he was using the denial of the &#8220;intimacy report&#8221; by his office as a springboard. However, his ranking went up and down, and in the November tournament, in which he was ranked second in the maegashira division, he lost 4-11 for the second consecutive tournament, and in the ranking for the January tournament, which was announced on January 25, he dropped to ninth in the maegashira division to start 2024.
“Looking back, Akeio was used like a &#8220;guess horse,&#8221; and he has many female fans. I am sure that many of Akeio&#8217;s female fans are just as furious with him as Takahashi&#8217;s fans are with Arimura.”
“As Akeio is expected to do even better as a legitimate Japanese rikishi, we hope that he will be inspired and win big in the January tournament. I hope that he will rise in the ranks to surpass Mr. Arimura in the ranks in the future.”
Akeio will probably receive even more cheers and encouragement than usual from his fans who know the whole story.
 
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Akeio looks back on a &quot;frustrating year&quot; of training"></div>
<figure id="attachment_351614" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1024px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351614"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2bc3b06d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/12/62508058625315255a57574731d377b8.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351614" class="wp-caption-text">On December 29, Akeio practiced in the Tachinami room. He said of his performance this year, in which he lost in four tournaments, &#8220;I can only say that it has been a year of frustration. I want to face sumo with gusto, wrestle my own sumo, and leave the results behind.”</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_351617" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2854px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351617"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="489e7d46"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/12/6b85630a846305706079b3e92ab4d75f.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351617" class="wp-caption-text">Arimura in glasses on location for a movie (May 7 and 14, &#8217;21 issue)</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_351618" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1257px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351618"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b95c11b5"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/12/a4debc7300bf11f244ac13c7a13eb48b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351618" class="wp-caption-text">Off-shot on location for &#8220;My Sister&#8217;s Lover&#8221; (November 27, &#8217;20 issue)</figcaption></figure>

 Saki Hotta (3rd), Yuri Adachi (4th)

 The second maegashira, Meisho, attracted a lot of attention from the entertainment industry when his ranking for the January tournament was announced. In July of last year, it was reported that he and Kasumi Arimura were in "close contact" with each other. His office at the time made an angry comment about the report, but what is his current state of mind?

Arimura and Takahashi’s Relationship Revealed Amidst Involvement of Popular Sumo Wrestler

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