Inside Japan: ABEMA streams every bout free, all 6 divisions, all 15 days, no account needed. This is the simplest path.
Outside Japan, English-only is fine: NHK World offers free, geo-unrestricted highlight programmes with English commentary. No VPN needed. The single most legitimate international option, but it's highlights only — not the full live feed.
Outside Japan, want full live coverage: The most popular route is VPN + ABEMA — connect to a Japan server with a service like NordVPN and stream ABEMA Free as if you were in Japan. Important: ABEMA's terms of service technically restrict use to Japan; this is a widely-used workaround but legally a gray area. We explain the trade-off honestly below.
Catch-up / on-demand: ABEMA keeps free replays up for a limited period after each broadcast; ABEMA Premium (paid — check the current price on ABEMA) adds ad-free replays of past bouts. Best value if you want to rewatch.
📊 All Options at a Glance
🟢 ABEMA — Best Free Option (Inside Japan)
ABEMA is the only service that broadcasts every sumo bout from every division, live, during all 6 annual tournaments. That means from 8:00 AM JST, you can watch Jonokuchi wrestlers on their first-ever professional bouts, all the way through to the final Yokozuna match at 6:00 PM. No other platform covers sumo this comprehensively.
The service requires no account or registration to watch. Open the app or website, search for "大相撲" (sumo), and the live channel appears. During tournament days, it runs for roughly 10 hours straight.
How to Find the Sumo Channel on ABEMA
Download the app or go to abema.tv
Available on iOS, Android, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV. On PC, just open abema.tv in Chrome or Safari — no install needed.
Search "大相撲" (dai-sumo) in the search bar
Type or paste 大相撲 into the search. During a live tournament, the sumo channel appears at the top of results. Outside tournament dates, past broadcasts and related content will appear.
Watch from 8:00 AM JST on tournament days
Coverage starts with the lowest divisions and works up through Makuuchi. The main event — top division bouts — runs from approximately 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM JST.
🌍 NHK World — Recommended for International Viewers (Free, No VPN)
If you live outside Japan and want a fully legitimate, no-gray-area way to watch sumo, NHK World is the place to start. It is NHK's international streaming arm, designed specifically for global audiences, available worldwide without geo-restrictions, and the main official source of English commentary on real bouts.
What you get: A daily highlight programme (GRAND SUMO Highlights) during each basho — the day's Makuuchi action, narrated in English with technical explanations. NHK World also produces longer-form documentaries on individual wrestlers, stables, and sumo culture.
Where to watch: Open NHK World on demand, or download the NHK World JAPAN app (iOS, Android, Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku, Android TV — all major streaming devices). No login required.
Bottom line: If your goal is to follow sumo as an English-speaking fan and you don't need to see every single bout in every division live, NHK World is the cleanest, most ethical option. Many seasoned international sumo fans use NHK World as their primary feed and supplement with the JSA YouTube channel for additional clips.
The Japan Sumo Association's official YouTube channel posts official clips during and between tournaments. The JSA also runs an English-language channel, Sumo Prime Time, with explainers on techniques and training plus interviews with wrestlers and elders. Available worldwide, no VPN needed.
🔒 VPN + ABEMA — Full Live Coverage (Popular but Gray-Area)
⚠️ Honest disclosure
ABEMA's terms of service restrict use to Japan. Connecting through a VPN and accessing the service from abroad is technically a TOS violation. Enforcement against individual viewers is essentially nonexistent today, and a large segment of the international sumo fanbase uses this exact route. But we're flagging it: this is a gray-area workaround, not a sanctioned international service. Choose with that in mind.
If you'd prefer a completely sanctioned route, NHK World above is your best free option. If you want full live coverage and are comfortable with the trade-off, here's how the VPN+ABEMA route works.
ABEMA's geo-restriction works by checking your IP address. A VPN routes your connection through a Japanese server so that, from ABEMA's perspective, you appear to be a Japan-based viewer. NordVPN is the option we've seen recommended most consistently for this by international sumo communities — it maintains 100+ Japan servers, updates them when ABEMA's detection tightens, and delivers HD streaming with minimal speed loss.
30-day money-back guarantee · ※ affiliate link (we earn a small commission if you sign up)
🎌 Step-by-step: VPN + ABEMA route
Get a VPN with Japan servers
NordVPN is the most-reliable option (2-year plan ~$3/mo). Other VPNs work too — the requirement is "Japan servers that ABEMA hasn't blacklisted."
Connect to a Japan server
Open the VPN app, search "Japan", and click Connect. You'll be on a Japanese IP within seconds.
Open ABEMA and search "大相撲"
Go to abema.tv or open the ABEMA app. Search 大相撲 (sumo). The live channel appears. Watch free, all divisions, 8 AM–6 PM JST.
If ABEMA blocks your VPN: Some Japan VPN servers eventually get added to ABEMA's blocklist. Try a different Japan server location within the same VPN (for example, switch between Tokyo and Osaka). Our partner VPN Beyond tracks which VPN providers currently bypass ABEMA's detection.
📅 2026 Tournament Schedule
🕐 Broadcast Times by Time Zone
Makuuchi bouts run from approximately 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM JST on tournament days. Here's what that means in your time zone:
Times shown are standard time (as during the November and January basho). Where daylight saving time is in effect, local times are one hour later. Tip: US/UK viewers watching live will need to stay up late — or use a replay to watch in the morning.