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May 04, 2024
 

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John Gunning
For John Gunning's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 19, 2023
When it comes to sumo in popular media, style reigns over substance
Despite its rich pageantry and 2,000-year history, the sport is still waiting for an authentic Hollywood portrayal that can catch on with the general public.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 12, 2023
Should Terunofuji be considered an all-time great?
With the yokozuna's status for next month's Summer Basho still pending, it’s worth pondering how sumo history would judge him were he to retire without achieving further glory.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 5, 2023
Sumo's declining recruitment shows need for fresh ideas
As Japanese children gravitate toward sumo and rugby, the Japan Sumo Association may need to take a more active role in overseeing the sport's grassroots levels.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 29, 2023
Kiribayama’s victory raises possibility of historic double promotion
The Spring Basho winner is the man best positioned to take advantage of what's likely to be a liberal promotion atmosphere for the foreseeable future.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 23, 2023
Sumo's second division takes center stage in Osaka
Jūryō outshines a top division lacking stars and excitement.
Japan Times
SUMO
Mar 23, 2023
Amateur yokozuna Daiki Nakamura joins Nishonoseki stable
The NSSU graduate's extensive list of titles in amateur sumo will allow him to start his professional career in May at the rank of makushita 10 (tsukedashi) in the third tier.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 15, 2023
Pressure back on JSA to reconnect with fans as pandemic ends
After nearly three years of restrictions, there are plenty of ways for sumo officials to widen the sport's audience both domestically and globally.
Japan Times
SUMO
Mar 10, 2023
Yokozuna promotion appears within Takakeisho's grasp at Spring Basho
Reaching sumo’s highest rank is one of the toughest challenges in all of sport, but the odds of Takakeisho achieving it later this month appear good.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 8, 2023
In sumo, size doesn't matter (much)
The lack of weight classes in Japan's national sport makes it unique among combat sports such as boxing, where smaller competitors would quickly find themselves overpowered.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 1, 2023
Makuuchi's international brotherhood grows with Kazakhstan's arrival
Kinbozan’s promotion to the rank of maegashira has resulted in sumo’s top tier gaining its first-ever wrestler from the central Asian nation.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Feb 26, 2023
CFL deepens links with Japanese football in combine's fourth year
The international combines and draft are a part of a global outreach program, dubbed CFL 2.0, that was initiated by CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie in 2018.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 22, 2023
Sumo's changed landscape reflected in 2023 depth chart
If all 600 or so active rikishi, and those projected to join in the near future, were available to be chosen by stables, which men would make the top eight?
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 15, 2023
Hawaiian sumo makes triumphant return to Kokugikan ring at Hakuho Cup
After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2021 edition and kept foreign wrestlers away in 2022, the former yokozuna's annual youth tournament was back in force on Sunday.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 1, 2023
Hakuho positions himself to dominate sumo once again
Now known as Miyagino, the former yokozuna's proactive recruiting style has seen the stable add some seriously impressive talent under his watch.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 25, 2023
Not promoting Takakeisho is the right move for both him and sumo
Against a field which contained no other ozeki or yokozuna, the 26-year-old failed to dominate in a manner which would have made promotion impossible to deny.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 24, 2023
Japanese football misses its big opportunity in Dream Bowl game
Frustration dominates after the Japan All Star team fell 24-20 to an Ivy League selection in a gripping and tightly fought match at Tokyo’s National Stadium.
Japan Times
SUMO
Jan 18, 2023
Unstoppable Asanoyama well-positioned for return to top division
After serving a long suspension for violating the Japan Sumo Association's COVID-19 guidelines, the former ozeki is battling his way back to makuuchi with flair.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 11, 2023
Hoshoryu's recent rise may earn him a speedy promotion
Japan's national sport has been going through a period of flux over the past few years and is in desperate need of a new marquee name.
Japan Times
SUMO
Jan 6, 2023
Takakeisho enters New Year Basho with golden opportunity
The first professional sumo tournament of the year gets underway at the Kokugikan in Tokyo this weekend.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 4, 2023
Another season of turbulence in store for sumo in 2023
While there are several candidates to become sumo's next big thing, it seems likely that it will take time for one or more wrestlers to separate themselves from their rivals.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Yen swings stir talk that Japan is in the FX market once again
An electronic screen in Tokyo displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and the graph showing its recent swings, on Thursday.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Japan's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield

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