The Japan Sumo Association has decided to pay an undisclosed retirement settlement to former yokozuna Asashoryu, who last week quit the sport following allegations he attacked a man outside a Tokyo night club in a drunken rage.
   
For privacy reasons the amount of the payout was not disclosed, but according to a source close to the JSA, it is believed Asashoryu will receive 120 million yen in retirement benefits. "The amount has been determined but we will not disclose it because this is a private matter", said sumo elder and JSA spokesperson Hakkaku.
   
The special package is paid to sumo elders who reach retirement age as well as to grand champions and ozeki when they decide to step down from the raised ring, with the figure normally based on achievements in the ring. The 29-year-old will also be paid about 37 million yen in pension and an additional bonus for his years of service in sumo.
   
Former yokozuna Takanohana, a 22 Emperor’s Cup winner, was awarded the biggest ever payout of 130 million yen after he retired in 2003. Hawaiian-born former yokozuna Akebono was paid 100 million yen while former grand champion Wakanohana, the elder brother of Takanohana, got 70 million yen. Samoan-born former yokozuna Musashimaru received 90 million yen, but former yokozuna Futahaguro, who went missing and eventually split with his stablemaster in 1987, received nothing.
   
The JSA has not announced the retirement amounts of wrestlers since revealing former ozeki Musoyama’s settlement of 32 million yen when he retired after the Kyushu basho in 2004.