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“I’ve always found that fascinating,” Trump said of sumo. “We’re having a trophy made in this country. We’re going to give the trophy to the winner of the championship.”

Abe has sought to court Trump by playing to his ego. During his visit, Trump also will become the first foreign leader to meet newly enshrined Emperor Naruhito. The president also is expected to visit the U.S. naval base at Yokosuka.

For Trump, who built his real estate promotion business by stamping his surname on hotels, casinos, golf resorts, neckties and even coffee, the move to christen a new award named after himself seems very on-brand.

Experts said it is not unusual for sumo champions to receive special awards from foreign dignitaries, private companies and provincial officials across Japan. But, they emphasized, the awards are typically named after a country or business, rather than an individual. For example, the late David Jones, who worked in Tokyo for the now-defunct Pan American Airways, presented the Pan American trophy to sumo champions for more than two decades.

The awards are typically named after a country or business, rather than an individual

Andrew Freund, director of USA Sumo, said that naming the award after Trump would be fine as a nickname. But “if it is officially the ‘Trump Cup,’ that would be a little over the top,” said Freund, who has lived in Japan and has been organizing sumo events in the United States for 25 years.

Trump would not be the first head of state to hand out a sumo trophy. Former French president Jacques Chirac, who was such a big fan that he named his poodle “Sumo,” created in 2000 what came to be known as the “Chirac Cup.” Formally called the “President of the Republic of France Cup,” the award was presented to sumo champions in Japan by the French ambassador or another diplomat for seven years until Chirac left office in 2007.