 Musashigawa performed an early "kanreki dohyō-iri" in 2007 (normally performed on a "yokozuna"'s 60th birthday) to mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of Musashigawa stable.On September 8, 2008, he became the chairman of the Japan Sumo Association following the resignation of Kitanoumi.One of his first actions was to demand a controversial tightening up of the rules for the "tachi-ai", or initial charge, which led to many false starts in the September 2008 tournament.