On 28 April 2007 he caused a car accident in Tokyo. He was punished for defying the Japan Sumo Association's ban on wrestlers driving cars by being forced to sit out the May tournament, resulting in demotion to the "jūryō" division. This broke a string of over 700 consecutive top division bouts dating from his re-entry into "makuuchi" in May 1999, the longest streak among active wrestlers. However, he won immediate promotion back to the top division with a 12-3 record in July. On his return to the top division in September he was runner-up to "yokozuna" Hakuhō, his first ever runner-up score in "makuuchi". He was awarded his fifth Fighting Spirit prize. In March 2009 he was promoted to "komusubi" for the first time in 17 tournaments, and became the first former "san'yaku" wrestler since Mitoizumi in 1988 to drop to the "jūryō" division and make a return to the "san'yaku" ranks. He made "komusubi" once again in July 2009.