Tokitsukaze stable
However, this system of hazing was widely criticized in late 2007 when a hazing scandal came to light, in which a 17-year-old sumo trainee named Takashi Saito from the Tokitsukaze stable died after a serious bullying incident involving his stablemaster Jun'ichi Yamamoto hitting him on the head with a large beer bottle and fellow rikishi being subsequently ordered to physically abuse him further. The stablemaster and three other wrestlers who were involved were arrested in February 2008, after which Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda demanded the JSA take steps to ensure such an incident never happens again. In May 2009, Yamamoto was sentenced to six years in jail.