By John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal
Yoda suspended by the Nihon Ki-in
This is not a matter one wants to get involved in, the reason being that, with the paucity of information available, it’s not possible for an outsider to make any meaningful judgment, but I can give some details. My report on the Masters Cup published on August 23, 2019, gives the bare bones of the dispute. More details are given in my report of February 22, 2020. The Nihon Ki-in board of directors suspended Yoda from play for six months. At the time, he missed some games, but when Yoda launched a legal appeal against the ruling, making the matter sub judice, the Nihon Ki-in reinstalled him until the court case was finished. The court gave its decision on October 14 and found in favor of the Nihon Ki-in, which announced that Yoda had been suspended for six months, from October 15 to March 16 next year. When he turned up at the Ki-in to play a game the next day, a director blocked his way to the playing room and he was informed in person of the ban. Yoda had won a seat in the Samsung Cup in the Japanese domestic qualifying tournament, but had to give this up. Nakamura Sumire was selected to replace him.
Most wins (as of Nov. 4)
1. Ueno Asami Women’s Hollyhock: 43-20
2. Nakamura Sumire 3-dan: 42-20
3. Fujisawa Rina Women’s Honinbo: 41-15
4. Koike Yoshihiro 7-dan: 36-10; Nyu Eiko Senko Cup: 36-18; Ichiriki Ryo Kisei: 36-21
7. Otake Yu 7-dan: 33-12; Ida Atsushi 9-dan: 33-14
9. Suzuki Ayumi 7-dan: 32-22
10. Shibano Toramaru Meijin: 31-16
(This week Go Weekly listed only the top six. 7th to 10th are my best guesses.)
Best winning streaks
7: Cho U 9-dan, Kono Rin 9-dan
6: Kobayashi Izumi 7-dan, Nishioka Masao 3-dan,
Winning streaks recently ended
10: Koike Yoshihiro 7-dan
9: Rin Kanketsu 8-dan
8: Motoki Katsuya 8-dan, Sakai Yuki 3-dan
7: Shida Tatsuya 8-dan, Muramatsu Daiki 6-dan,
6: Akiyama Jiro 9-dan, Yamashita Keigo 9-dan
5: Iyama Yuta Honinbo, Ogaki Yusaku 9-dan, Kono Takashi 8-dan, Anzai Nobuaki 8-dan, Konishi Yoshiakira 1-dan, Takao Shinji 9-dan
Retirement
Makihata Taeko 5-dan retired as of November 5. She was born in Tokyo on February 9, 1980. She became 1-dan in 1997 and reached 4-dan in 2014. She was promoted on 5-dan after retiring.
