ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the impact that different cultural and social expectations can have in interpretations of match-fixing in sport even within the same legal jurisdiction. It juxtaposes Japanese attitudes to match-fixing in two of the country’s most-loved sports: baseball and sumo. The chapter begins by analysing the historical development of gambling regulation in Japan, which forms the basis for its law enforcement approach to match-fixing. The current state reflects the tension in Japan between organised crime’s involvement in gambling and the state’s role in legalising some forms of gambling. The Criminal Code prohibits the operation of gambling halls and makes it a crime for individuals to engage in the act of gambling. Gambling has been legalised, however, for four government-managed sports: horse racing, auto racing, boat racing and bicycle racing. In these sports, match-fixing and other misconduct are punishable as criminal offenses. The first part of the chapter concludes with an analysis of various regulations and other measures implemented in an effort to curb match-fixing in these government-supervised sports. The final substantive section of the chapter builds on the tensions found in Japan’s regulatory space by contrasting the different attitudes to match-fixing in baseball and sumo in Japan. The infamous Black Mist Scandal of 1969 saw a number of professional baseball players condemned for intentionally losing a series of games at the request of an organised crime group in exchange for monetary gifts. Conversely, there are examples in the Sumo world which are treated more sympathetically and acceptingly where wrestlers intentionally lose bouts. The contemporary sumo cases reflect a romantic view of match-fixing where the incentive is not financial compensation, but a positively accepted virtue known as compassionate sumo (ninjō zumō). These cases remind us that match-fixing is a complex and sometimes localised issue which may be difficult to explain from global perspectives.
