He needed a kidney transplant in 2006 and his mother was the donor, which was featured in Tokyo Broadcasting System Television's The Friday in January 2018.
He appeared in another edition of the program in June 2018, working alongside fellow ex-sumo wrestlers Wakatoba and Wakatenro, in care for the elderly (including making chankonabe).
He had been suffering from diabetes since before he entered the sumo world, having measured 190 cm and weighed 150 kg since he began judo in high school, and he had been eating a bowl of white rice every day.
Restricted by his condition he had mixed results for the next two years, but he won promotion to the top makuuchi division in September 1997 alongside Chiyotaikai.
After retiring, he remained in the Japan Sumo Association as an elder, first under his old shikona for two years (the jun-toshiyori system) and then as Nishiiwa (borrowed from Wakanosato), and worked as a coach at his stable.
After leaving in May 2007 due to the retiring Takanotsuru needing the Nishiiwa stock, he served as a director of the Professional Baseball Masters League upon the recommendation of former Hiroshima Toyo Carp pitcher Sohachi Aniya (安仁屋宗八), who was also a senior at Okinawa High School.
While working there he was featured on the Tokyo Broadcasting System Television's The Friday program alongside ex-stablemates Wakatoba and Wakatenro.