Nuremberg midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake has vowed to plug the gap left by injured Manchester United star Shinji Kagawa when Japan take on Oman in next week’s World Cup qualifier In Muscat. Kagawa has been ruled out of Wednesday’s Group B clash after sustaining a ...

Kaoru Morioka scored twice as Japan earned a dramatic 5-5 draw on Sunday in its FIFA Futsal World Cup Group C match against Portugal. Trailing 3-0 in the ninth minute, Japan got back into the game and went into the break trailing the Portuguese ...

Three Japan players — midfielders Homare Sawa and Aya Miyama, as well as goalkeeper Miho Fukumoto — were shortlisted for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award on Thursday. Norio Sasaki, coach of Japan’s Olympic silver medalist team, and Hiroshi Yoshida, who ...

Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Takashi Inui once again proved to be a handful for opponents on Sunday but blew an opportunity to score in his fourth consecutive match in the newly promoted Bundesliga club’s 2-1 victory at home over Freiburg. With Japan manager Alberto Zaccheroni ...

Norio Sasaki, who guided Japan to an astonishing victory at the 2011 Women’s World Cup final and the silver medal at the London Olympics last month, could be staying on as Nadeshiko coach. Eiji Ueda, chief of women’s soccer at the Japan Football Association, ...

Iraq coach Zico said Japan is not as invincible as people think, pointing to Uzbekistan’s defying the Asian champions in the previous round of World Cup qualifying. Through three games in this round, however, Japan have been in a class by itself with seven ...