Tournament canceled after sumo wrestling scandal

(CNN) -- An upcoming sumo wrestling tournament has been canceled in the wake of a match-fixing scandal that has rocked Japan's national sport, officials said.

The 15-day tournament scheduled for March was canceled after an emergency meeting, the Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.

The decision comes after last week's revelation that three wrestlers had admitted to rigging bouts.

Tokyo Police found suspicious messages on various wrestlers' phones that suggested the outcome of several fights had been planned, Kyodo said.

''Sumo is our national sport. If match-fixing has occurred, it is a very serious betrayal of the people,'' said Hanaregoma, chairman of Japan Sumo Association. He addressed the scandal Sunday at a televised news conference.

"This (scandal) left the worst dirty point in the long history of sumo," the chairman said.

Japan's prime minister also spoke about the scandal.

''Sumo is our national sport. If match-fixing has occurred, it is a very serious betrayal of the people,'' Naoto Kan, the country's prime minister, has said.

It is the latest sumo controversy after a gambling scandal emerged in July when 34-year-old wrestler Ozeki Kotomitsuki allegedly bet on baseball games.