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SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Apr 29, 2009

Is sumo truly the Japanese national sport?

For the 140 or so years non-Japanese have known of the existence of sumo, many have referred to it as Japan's national sport. But are they correct about the status of this ancient form of wrestling found only in these islands, misinformed entirely, or just partly right?
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jan 5, 2021

Extreme sports gain legitimacy through Olympic inclusion

The Tokyo Games will feature skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing in an effort to bring more young fans into the Olympic community.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Feb 19, 2017

Media outside Japan must stop normalizing sumo as an ethno-sport

Foreign correspondents should not pander to stereotypes, passing overt racism off as 'tradition' practiced by those mystical, hidebound, inscrutable Japanese.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 19, 2022

Curling drifts to the East, where rock stars are being born

In recent years, Japan, China and South Korea have embraced the sport, investing resources, creating celebrities and changing the competitive landscape.
Japan Times
JAPAN / WORLD FORUM ON SPORT AND CULTURE
Oct 19, 2016

Blending sport, culture, economy

Major international sporting events bring together people from different cultural backgrounds, offering a chance for world peace and economic and cultural empowerment. Over the next several years Japan has an excellent opportunity to lead the world as it hosts major sporting events and cultural festivals....
OLYMPICS
Jul 22, 2021

For karateka at the Games, the goal is gold. For karate the sport, the goal is inclusion.

Karate is getting its moment to shine at the Olympics, but are the Games simply catching up to something a lot of us already know?
Japan Times
JAPAN / 5-YEAR MEMORIAL OF GREAT EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE
Mar 11, 2016

Taking power of sport to Tohoku

Like most people in Japan, I remember vividly where I was on March 11, 2011. I was training in Phoenix, Arizona, for the 2011 World Athletics Championships. I watched in disbelief as the tragedy unfolded in the Tohoku region on TV, feeling utterly helpless. I was frustrated that there was nothing I could...
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2010

Sumo's seamy underbelly

NAGOYA — Sumo is more than a sport to Japan. It's like a religion, a bastion of traditional culture and a matter of national pride. Wrestlers aren't just athletes — they are icons, role models and, often, larger-than-life heroes.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Oct 31, 2020

Japan Equestrian Federation hopes to use Tokyo Olympics to raise sport's profile

Hosting events during the Olympics is the perfect opportunity to advertise and promote the sport in Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / DAVOS SPECIAL 2017
Jan 17, 2017

Sport provides path to economic prosperity, world peace

Recently, "Team Japan" scored quite a few points in leading the world in the promotion of sports and culture to achieve economic prosperity and world peace.
Michael Brinegar in action at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha on Feb. 8
MORE SPORTS / Swimming
Jun 25, 2024

Former U.S. Olympian Brinegar hit with four-year doping ban

American swimmer Michael Brinegar, who competed in the 800 and 1,500 meters events at the Tokyo Olympics, has been handed a four-year suspension for blood doping, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said on Monday.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 13, 2023

Sumo's big ticketing problem

Securing tickets for sumo's biggest matches can be a headache, particularly for sumo's many foreign fans, partially due to outdated information online.
Terunofuji accepts the Emperor's Cup after winning the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday.
SUMO
Jul 28, 2024

Terunofuji rebounds from stumbles to claim milestone 10th Emperor’s Cup

Thanks to a series of stumbles by the previously imperious yokozuna, the destination of the title was not decided until a playoff in the tournament’s final bout.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 2, 2023

Hakuoho hints at what's to come with breakout makuuchi debut

Last month's Nagoya Basho may have just been the coming out party for sumo’s newest superstar.
Fulham's Junichi Inamoto scores his third goal of the game during a match against Bologna on Aug. 27, 2002.
SOCCER
Dec 4, 2024

Japan's Premier League pioneer, Junichi Inamoto, retires at age 45

Inamoto became a national hero when he scored twice at the 2002 World Cup on home soil, including the winner against Russia.
Naoya Kusano in action during the Summer Basho in Tokyo in May.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jun 25, 2025

Former college star Kusano looks ready for challenge of sumo's top tier

While Onosato was claiming Emperor’s Cups in Osaka and Tokyo in recent months, Kusano was doing something similar, albeit one level down.
Wakatakakage during a ring entering ceremony in February 2020
SUMO
Aug 13, 2025

Will Wakatakakage bring balance to the banzuke?

Recent performances and sumo’s need for two ōzeki should help the veteran’s promotion hopes.
Nissan's Oliver Rowland races in the first Tokyo E-Prix on Saturday. The Japanese team delighted the home fans with Rowland's second-place finish as Formula E made its debut in the motorsport-loving country.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 31, 2024

First Tokyo E-Prix wins over Japan's passionate motorsports fans

Spectators hailed the long-awaited arrival of the racing series, which offered a different kind of spectacle compared to F1 and domestic series.
Shohei Ohtani's success symbolizes a broader resurgence in Japanese sports, with contributing factors including increased investment in sports, modern coaching techniques and a generational shift in mindset.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 11, 2024

What baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s success says about Japan

The phenom has had what many are calling the greatest season ever. But his success is also a story of change in his home country.
Japan's Tokito Oda celebrates after winning the men's wheelchair singles title at the U.S. Open in New York on Saturday.
TENNIS
Sep 7, 2025

Japanese phenom Tokito Oda, 19, completes career Golden Slam at U.S. Open

Oda edged his Argentine doubles partner Gustavo Fernandez in the men's wheelchair singles final for his seventh Grand Slam title.
Japanese players celebrate after winning a point against Canada during a Volleyball Nations League match on Thursday in Fukuoka.
OLYMPICS / Volleyball
Jun 14, 2024

Japan’s women’s volleyball team punches ticket for Paris

The JVA received the news from FIVA, the sport’s governing body, after it calculated the rankings points as of Thursday.
San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays poses for a portrait at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 1, 1967.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 19, 2024

Willie Mays, baseball’s do-it-all ‘Say Hey Kid,’ dies at 93

One of Major League Baseball’s first Black stars, Mays was widely considered the greatest all-around player of his era, perhaps ever.
Onosato (right) has eased to a 3-0 start in the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Mar 12, 2025

Sumo in March comes in like a lion

It’s been a rocky start to spring for sumo both in Japan and abroad.
Newly promoted yokozuna Onosato holds a copy of the latest banzuke ranking in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, on Monday.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Jul 2, 2025

Onosato's yokozuna promotion causes rare quirk in new sumo rankings

Onosato is listed as yozokuna-ōzeki on the latest banzuke, the first time since 1981 that a new yokozuna has been given such a designation.
Hoshoryu (right) defeats Kirishima on Sunday. Hoshoryu has the look of a contender in the early days of the year's first tournament.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 15, 2025

Wide-open field has the New Year Basho looking like anyone's tourney

There has still been enough shakiness among the top-rankers to preclude ruling out any kind of outcome in the year's first tournament.
A Haas F1 car on display in the fan zone at Suzuka Circuit on Saturday as Toyota marks a soft return to Formula One.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 7, 2025

Toyota's synergy with Haas fuels automaker's modest return to Formula One

Toyota’s decision to partner with the American team immediately left observers wondering if it might have its eyes on more, such as an engine deal or a full-blown Toyota team.
Urawa Reds Ladies celebrate with their fans after winning the league championship at Urawa Komaba Stadium on June 3, 2023.
SOCCER
May 9, 2024

Urawa Reds Ladies to vie for Asian supremacy amid controversy over AFC's actions

Final to go ahead after backlash forced AFC to reverse earlier decision to cancel match.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and other Cabinet members and lawmakers attend a session of the Lower House of parliament in Tokyo on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 13, 2024

Trump return leaves Japan’s leader with no time to snooze

The prime minister drew headlines for a moment after he was caught napping in parliament during proceedings for his own nomination as Japanese leader.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani poses with President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman at Ohtani's introductory news conference at Dodger Stadium on Dec. 14, 2023.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 13, 2025

Dodgers' Andrew Friedman hails team's growing Japan connection

“I think the atmosphere is going to be electric. ... I think it’s the closest I’ll ever get to traveling with the Beatles."

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