Olympics Jul 21, 2020

IOC's Dick Pound against locals-only crowds for Tokyo Olympics

The senior Olympic official believes that preventing fans from attending the games from overseas would run counter to the event's cosmopolitan spirit.

Olympics Apr 7, 2020

'Phantom Olympian' Kenichi Chida staying optimistic despite Tokyo Games postponement

When Tokyo won the rights to host the 2020 Summer Games in 2013, retired top fencer Kenichi Chida was determined to find a role to play, having been one of the "phantom athletes" who never made it to the boycotted 1980 Games in Moscow. Born ...

More Sports Jun 19, 2017

China taking notice of Japan's rising talents

Although the Japan Open showcased Chinese table tennis supremacy rather than Japan's rise, China's stars have a wary eye on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic hosts — if their words are taken at face value. Kasumi Ishikawa, Mima Ito and Asian champ Miu Hirano all crashed ...

More Sports Jun 18, 2017

Hirano vows to face up to Chinese challenge

It was a cruel reality check for Miu Hirano as her surging run of form came to a shuddering end in the Japan Open quarterfinals, but the 17-year-old vowed to rebuild her game to again challenge China's top players. Her straight-games defeat (7-11, 8-11, 5-11, ...

More Sports / Winter Sports Feb 19, 2017

Japan's female curlers using tourney as springboard

Both Japanese curling teams at the Asian Winter Games have their sights firmly set on the Pyeongchang Olympics in a year's time, but this tournament could be bigger for the women after their recent loss in the nationals. There is a chance of five-time men's ...

General Apr 13, 2013

Tokyo Brits gear up for three-day charity cycle ride to Fukushima

"Ten Brits, 10 Bikes, 300 km, 3 days . . . !" — a group of British expats living in Tokyo will saddle up for a charity cycle ride this month to the disaster-stricken city of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, in the sort of fundraising ...

National Mar 6, 2013

Weekly rallies keeping antinuclear movement alive after LDP's return

The weekly antinuclear power rallies are still being staged outside the prime minister's office, as evidenced by a gathering of some 3,000 people one recent cold February evening, but the crowds are getting smaller. Part of this decline may be because two years have passed ...