The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current, October 03, 2022, Page 8, Image 8

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    SPORTS
Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
October 3, 2022
Japanese wrestler and politician
Antonio Inoki dies at age 79
By Mari Yamaguchi
The Associated Press
OKYO — A popular Japanese professional
wrestler and lawmaker, Antonio Inoki, who faced
a world boxing champion Muhammad Ali in a
mixed martial arts match in 1976, has died at age 79.
Inoki brought Japanese pro-wrestling to fame and
pioneered mixed martial arts matches between top
wrestlers and champions from other combat sports like
judo, karate, and boxing.
Inoki, who was battling a rare disease called
amyloidosis, died over the weekend, according to the New
Japan Pro-Wrestling Co., of which he was the founding
president.
He rose to global fame in the sport in 1976 when he faced
Ali in a mixed martial arts match at Tokyo’s Budokan
hall, an exhibition match that Japanese fans remember as
“the fight of the century.”
To many of those outside Japan, however, the match
was seen as unprofessional and not taken seriously. Inoki
was mostly on the mat and kicking at Ali’s legs as the
boxing champion circled around him.
He was the first in his sport to enter politics. He
promoted peace through sports and made more than 30
trips to North Korea during his time as a lawmaker in
hopes of forging peace and friendship.
Inoki was upbeat and in good spirits, even as he was
fighting the disease. With his trademark red scarf
dangling from his neck, Inoki last appeared in public in
August on a TV show, in a wheelchair.
“As you can see, I’m pushing myself to the limit, and I’m
getting power as I get to see you,” he said.
Born as Kanji Inoki in 1943 in Yokohama, just outside
Tokyo, he moved to Brazil with his family when he was 13
and worked at a coffee plantation. Inoki won local fame in
shot put as a student, and debuted as a professional
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Instructions: Fill in the grid so that the digits 1
through 9 appear one time each in every row, col-
umn, and 3x3 box.
Solution to
last issue’s
puzzle
Puzzle #78219 (Easy)
All solutions available at
<www.sudoku.com>.
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PRO-WRESTLING POLITICIAN. World heavyweight boxing
champion Muhammad Ali, left, tries to evade kicks by wrestler Antonio
Inoki, right, during their 15-round World Martial Arts match, in Tokyo,
in this July 26, 1976 file photo. Inoki has passed away at age 79.
(AP Photo/File)
wrestler at 17 while on a wrestling tour in Brazil where he
captured the attention of Rikidozan, known as the father
of Japanese pro-wrestling.
Inoki made his pro-wrestling debut in 1960 and gave
himself a ring name, Antonio Inoki, two years later.
With his archrival and another Japanese legend, the
late Shohei “Giant” Baba, Inoki made pro-wrestling a
hugely popular sport in Japan. Inoki founded the New
Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1972.
Inoki entered politics in 1989 after winning a seat in the
upper house, one of Japan’s two chambers of parliament,
and headed the Sports and Peace Party. He travelled to
Iraq in 1990 to win the release of Japanese citizens who
were held hostage there. He also staged a pro-wrestling
match in North Korea.
Inoki built a personal connection with North Korea over
the years and visited the country repeatedly to help
resolve Japan’s longstanding issue of past abductions of
Japanese nationals to the North.
He retired as a wrestler in 1998, but remained active in
politics until 2019.
An outpouring of tributes were posted on social media.
“A huge star has fallen. An era has come to an end,”
tweeted Atsushi Onita, also a wrestler who once served as
lawmaker. Onita called Inoki “the great father of
pro-wrestling” and added, “Thank you Inoki-san. I
express my condolences from the bottom of my heart.”
Yoshifu Arita, a journalist and former lawmaker,
praised Inoki for his effort to resolve the abduction issue
with the North.
“Another important route with North Korea is lost,”
Arita tweeted, as he criticized other former Japanese
leaders for relying on “useless” connections and making
no improvement. “Thank you for your hard work, Mr.
Inoki.”
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The online version of
this issue is available at:
<www.asianreporter.com>