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Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts to a standing ovation from fans after hitting his 50th home run of the season, against the Marlins in Miami on Sept. 19.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 23, 2024

For baseball fans, 2024 brought The Summer of Shohei Ohtani

The superstar was the center of attention for almost a full calendar year during a season straight out of a Hollywood movie.
Rae Burrell (left) of the Vinyl battles for possession with Lexie Hull and Angel Reese of the Rose in an Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game in Miami on Friday.
BASKETBALL
Jan 21, 2025

Unrivaled could teach the NBA how to win back its fans

The new league plays a fast-paced, free-flowing version of basketball that empowers players to show off their skills.
Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner, the top two players in the ATP rankings, will battle it out for the Australian Open title on Sunday in Melbourne.
TENNIS
Jan 25, 2025

Sinner wary of 'physical beast' Zverev in Australian Open final

The ice-cool runaway world No. 1 goes into Sunday's Melbourne Park decider on a 20-match win streak, dropping just two sets in his six matches so far.
Mikaela Shiffrin competes in the slalom run of the women's team combined event at the Saalbach 2025 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Hinterglemm, Austria, on Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS / Winter Sports
Feb 12, 2025

Shiffrin bags record-equaling 15th medal at World Ski Championships

The victory marked a stunning return to action for Shiffrin following an abdominal puncture wound she sustained in a heavy fall in November.
People walk past an agency building of the Chinese electric car brand BYD in Mexico City on March 3.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 10, 2025

Tesla is flailing in China and the rapid rise of BYD is to blame

Disappointing shipments in China have been blamed on a narrow and dated lineup, particularly in the face of up-to-date and more exciting offerings from BYD and others.
Former rugby league player Jordan Mailata won the Super Bowl with the Eagles last season.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Apr 24, 2025

Australians eye NFL draft in hopes of finding next Jordan Mailata

Mailata's ascent to the pinnacle of the game was big news in Australia.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes warms up before Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans last February. Flag football is set to debut at the 2028 Olympics — but if the NFL wants the sport to thrive globally, it should resist overshadowing it with high-profile pro players.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 2025

NFL stars don’t belong on the Olympics' flag football field

If the NFL is really serious about growing football’s global footprint, it and its players should sit the Olympics out.
Katie Ledecky competes in the final of the women's 1500m freestyle swimming event during the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Monday.
MORE SPORTS / Swimming
Jul 30, 2025

Ledecky wins 22nd world title as Popovici savours 'scary' gold

The masterful win in Singapore moved Ledecky four short of the retired Phelps' career tally of 26 world gold medals.
Rachel Culin, a disenchanted Toyota owner, standing between her Toyota Prius and new Chevy Bolt at her home in Mesa, Arizona. The world’s largest carmaker dominates the sales of hybrid cars but has been slow to sell all-electric vehicles, alienating some customers and hurting sales.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023

Toyota, a hybrid pioneer, struggles to master electric vehicles

The world’s largest carmaker dominates the sales of hybrid cars but has been slow to sell EVs, alienating some customers and hurting sales.
American sprinter Noah Lyles poses with a "Yu-Gi-Oh!" card after winning at the U.S. Olympic track-and-field finals on Sunday. The image went viral, once again showing the popularity of Japanese cultural exports like manga.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 28, 2024

Blackstone sees billions in manga. You should too.

Investment firm Blackstone's move to buy manga platform Mecha Comics, betting on the strength of Japan's soft power, looks further ahead than other players have.
Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada won the outstanding lead actress and actor awards in a drama series, respectively, for "Shogun" at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 15.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 30, 2024

'Peak Japan' is now, so seize the moment, Japan

Japan has never been hotter! Japan is the number one country in the world right now, as voted on by everyone else except for the Japanese.
Takuya “Moby” Okamoto after Game 5 of the 2016 World Series, which the Cubs went on to win in seven games to snap a 108-year drought
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 14, 2025

In a sea of Dodger Blue, Japanese superfan ready to cheer on the Cubs

The Dodgers may garner the lion's share of attention in Japan among MLB clubs, but don't tell that to Takuya “Moby” Okamoto, Japan's biggest Cubs fan.
Cars at the Geely Auto production base in Hangzhou, in China's eastern Zhejiang province on Feb. 16
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 17, 2025

Geely billionaire goes on a cost-cutting spree to catch rivals

The shift was laid out in a document called the Taizhou Declaration, which called for consolidation, synergies and savings.
The beach on Aka Island, Okinawa Prefecture, where U.S. forces first landed in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
May 26, 2025

How a remote island escaped mass suicide in Battle of Okinawa

Residents had been told that, if captured, women would be assaulted and men mutilated by U.S. soldiers.
Nadeshiko Japan players celebrate Risa Shimizu's goal in their 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup round-of-16 game against Norway in Wellington on Saturday.
SOCCER / Women's World cup / From the Spot
Aug 6, 2023

Nadeshiko Japan is back, but is Japan paying attention?

The team’s lack of media exposure and name recognition is a symptom of the Japan Football Association’s failure to capitalize on its 2011 world title.
England goalkeeper Mary Earp has criticized team outfitter Nike over failing to produce replicas of her uniform for sale.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Aug 15, 2023

Adidas and Nike navigate bumps in retail demand as WWC breaks records

As the market for women's soccer grows, marketers have to juggle the fan base's ever-changing demands.
Nadeshiko Japan reached the knockout stage at a fourth consecutive FIFA Women's World Cup before being eliminated in the quarterfinals on Friday by Sweden.
SOCCER / Women's World cup / From the Spot
Aug 15, 2023

Bold steps needed from JFA, WE League to maintain momentum after WWC

After Nadeshiko Japan's inspiring quarterfinal run in New Zealand, the country's soccer bodies must avoid the missteps of the post-2011 boom and bust.
Striking UAW autoworkers demonstrate at a rally in downtown Detroit on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Sep 18, 2023

How auto executives misread the UAW and ignited a historic strike

UAW president Shawn Fain’s aggressiveness reflects the mood of the American worker: anxious about job security and angry about a ballooning wealth gap.
Japan's culture of floor-sitting stretches back to ancient times. Only in the last 60 years has it faced off against a new lifestyle brought along by the rapid spread of chairs and other high furniture.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Nov 20, 2023

Has Japan mastered sitting?

Sitting is a deceptively simple act. But the story of sitting in Japan spans centuries of culture, politics and religion.
Warriors guard Stephen Curry drives to the basket during a game against the Wizards on Tuesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Feb 28, 2024

Stephen Curry is battling the clock to win over sneaker fans

Curry, 35, is still a commanding presence in the NBA, but he has work to do when it comes to winning over "sneakerheads."
Dodgers announcers Stephen Nelson and Jessica Mendoza pose with Ichiro Suzuki before a game against the Mariners in Seattle in 2023.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 27, 2024

Dodgers voice Stephen Nelson paves way for Japanese Americans in media

Nelson strongly believes representation matters in media and is aware that he might be helping inspire the next generation of Asian Americans in sports media.
Yuzuru Hanyu smiles during an interview in his hometown of Sendai in between performances of his latest tour, Ice Story.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Jan 11, 2025

30 minutes with Yuzuru Hanyu

The two-time Olympic champion exited the competitive arena in 2022. His overall career goal — to make spectators say "wow" — has not changed.
Rintaro Sasaki hits a home run during a game against Duke at Stanford's Sunken Diamond on March 16.
BASEBALL
Aug 17, 2025

Top MLB prospect Rintaro Sasaki is committed to doing it 'the hard way'

The Stanford slugger could have taken an easier path with a quicker payday. Instead he's determined to blaze his own unique trail to the top of the sport.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 26, 2023

A tale of two Fujis: Bullet climbs, crowds and Lizzo

With the borders fully open, Mount Fuji is all booked up and Fuji Rock is back in full force. Drew Damron and Patrick St. Michel join us on the podcast to discuss Japan’s two favorite Fujis.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight