Japan’s Pro Wrestling World Mourns Beloved Referee Killed by Bear; ‘Sasayan’ Had Retired to Countryside This Year

By Kenshin Yamagishi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

20:00 JST, October 24, 2025

MORIOKA — Japan’s professional wrestling world is mourning a long-serving referee who died this month after being mauled by a bear.

Katsumi Sasazaki was attacked by the bear while cleaning an open-air bath at a hot spring ryokan inn in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, on Oct. 16. Sasazaki, 60, contributed to the development of the pro wrestling industry for decades, but had retired from the ring this year and moved with his wife and two daughters to start a new chapter as an employee at the inn.

“Nobody had a bad word to say about him,” said Okki Okita, a ring announcer who knew Sasazaki for more than 30 years and had worked with him at the All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling. “He really was a kind person.”

Okita, whose real name is Yoshitada Okita, said Sasazaki was known for making impartial calls, and popular wrestlers such as Aja Kong affectionately called him “Sasayan.”

With the move to Kitakami, Sasazaki had just realized his dream of living in the countryside. However, Sasazaki was fatally attacked by a bear while working at the Semi Onsen inn, and his body was found in a nearby mountain forest the following day.

“We both adored pro wrestling, and we were always together,” recalled Okita, 52. “Thanks to him, I’ve also been able to have a good life through pro wrestling.”

Meiko Satomura, a former pro wrestler and representative of Sendai-based Sendai Girls’ Pro-Wrestling, said of Sasazaki, “He worked to help other people, not for himself.” After the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, Satomura was unable to hold wrestling events in her local area, but Sasazaki invited her to compete in bouts organized by a wrestling organization he belonged to.

About three years ago, Sasazaki spoke to Satomura about his future plans. “From now on I’ll have to work even harder for my family,” Sasazaki had said gently, while holding a photo of his daughter as a newborn.

“It’s so sad how things turned out,” Satomura said, choking up.