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Japan Times
SOCCER
Jun 3, 2023

Saudi Arabia reaps benefits of unprecedented attention as Cristiano Ronaldo pledges to remain

Reports have linked a string of other big names to the Saudi Pro League, thanks to the riches of the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth vehicle behind LIV Golf.
Japan Times
SOCCER
May 24, 2023

Spain arrests seven over Vinicius racism incidents

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said Sunday's incident showed FIFA's racism protocol in soccer was 'obsolete.'
SOCCER / J. League / From the Spot
Apr 26, 2023

J. League takes new open approach to fall-spring debate

The league could decide by the end of this year to adopt a calendar in line with those of Europe and South America's biggest leagues and competitions.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Feb 25, 2023

St. Louis City SC owner Carolyn Kindle breaks new ground for women in MLS

Major League Soccer's expansion franchise St. Louis City SC makes its regular-season debut on Saturday, and in Carolyn Kindle the club has a female figurehead with an uncommon combination of leadership roles.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jan 29, 2023

Cristiano Ronaldo's Saudi switch another symbol of Chinese decline

Tianjin Quanjian, which as recently as 2018 had been linked to the Portuguese star, was among the first of a raft of CSL clubs to close due to financial or legal issues.
Japan Times
SOCCER / Women's World Cup
Jul 21, 2023

Australia and New Zealand get Women's World Cup off to rousing start with wins in front of record crowds

Australia and New Zealand earned slim victories at home to kick off the Women's World Cup.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jan 20, 2023

One dead and dozens hurt in stampede before Iraq Gulf Cup final

Long banned from hosting international soccer matches, war-torn Iraq had been counting on the event to burnish its image.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices
Dec 31, 2022

The year through our own lenses

We asked our staff and freelance photographers to share the shots that made the year for them.
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 6, 2022

Penalty shootout agony for fans as Japan's World Cup dream comes to a disappointing end

Devastated fans brave rain and a midnight start to watch the Samurai Blue's historic chance at a quarterfinal appearance slip through their fingers.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 2, 2022

Belgium’s 'golden generation' reaches the end as Croatia and Morocco move on

The Belgians had chance after chance to win, but never scored against Croatia, which advanced. Morocco cruised past Canada to win the group.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Nov 19, 2022

FIFA chief blasts 'hypocrisy' of Western nations on eve of World Cup

The build-up to the tournament has been dominated by concerns over Qatar's treatment of migrant workers, women and the LGBTQ community, to the visible annoyance of organizers.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 14, 2022

Deadly bombing in Istanbul is being investigated as a terrorist attack

The attack was the deadliest in Turkey in more than five years, and authorities offered few details in the hours afterward.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Nov 2, 2022

Why some Iranians want their own country banned from the World Cup

A group of current and former athletes has called on FIFA to ban Iran from the upcoming World Cup in light of its recent violent crackdown on protesters and other human rights violations.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2022

Japan has learned from its own deadly crowd crushes, but risks remain

Authorities significantly stepped up crowd control measures in the wake of a deadly pedestrian crush in Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, in 2001.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jul 5, 2022

Qatar's esports gamers target big leagues

With a new dedicated gaming complex and growing sponsor interest, the Gulf nation hopes to stake its claim to part of the $1 billion esports market.
SOCCER
Jul 3, 2022

As Takefusa Kubo leaves, Mallorca doubles down on commitment to Japan

The Spanish first-division club is keen to build on its presence in Asia, dispatching one of its top executives and star players to Tokyo for a recent media tour.
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jun 17, 2022

J. League cautiously continues down road to normalcy with cheering tests

Over 2,000 combined fans at Kashima Soccer Stadium in Ibaraki Prefecture and Ajinomoto Stadium in the western Tokyo city of Chofu took part in cheering trials.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
May 7, 2022

Qatar's World Cup gamble not guaranteed to pay off

Analysts and academics are not convinced that the big spending from its gas revenues will mean Qatar can achieve its economic dream once the World Cup ends.
SOCCER / J. League / From the Spot
May 4, 2022

Friday night spectacle shows National Stadium's potential as FC Tokyo's home

The rebuilt National Stadium provided the kind of atmosphere that the J. League's biggest fixtures have often lacked.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Apr 17, 2022

Fan tokens from Manchester City to PSG disappoint as boom fades

For many hopeful fans, soccer club tokens have failed to meet expectations, with prices quickly losing steam within days of their release.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 29, 2022

Verdy touts defender Pratama Arhan as league’s new bridge to Indonesia

It's not every day that a J. League club unveils its new foreign signing at an ambassador's residence. Yet that's exactly the venue Tokyo Verdy chose to introduce defender Pratama Arhan.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Mar 3, 2022

Roman Abramovich to sell Chelsea as UK officials continue to call for sanctions

The Russian businessman promised to donate money from the sale to help victims of the war in Ukraine.
Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson (left) qualified for Chinese citizenship through his maternal grandmother, who was born in Jamaica to a Chinese father and Jamaican mother.
BASKETBALL
Jul 25, 2023

American NBA player Kyle Anderson to represent China at World Cup

The 29-year-old forward from New York is the latest elite athlete to gain Chinese nationality through naturalization and the first basketball player to do so.
The Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, where Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot and killed in the parking lot in June, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on Wednesday. The violent, professional-style killing of Nijjar now lies at the center of a diplomatic clash between Canada and India that comes just as Western allies have been trying to strengthen ties with the Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 24, 2023

Two hooded gunmen, a silver getaway car and a slain Sikh leader

Three witnesses who said they saw the killers of Hardeep Singh Nijjar described the scene.
Indian cricket is struggling against climate change-induced heat and rain and the last thing it needs is oil-rich Saudi Arabia buying into the league.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2023

The last thing cricket needs is Saudi money

Indian cricket is struggling against climate change-induced heat and rain. A partnership with oil-rich Saudi Arabia would lead to a certain defeat.
People watch fireworks and a light show as Saudi Arabia celebrates winning its bid to host the World Expo 2030, in Riyadh on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 29, 2023

Saudi Arabia edges out Italy and South Korea to host 2030 world fair

The win will likely help deliver on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious plans to wean the country off of its oil dependency.
Naomi Osaka speaks during a news conference at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Jan. 12.
TENNIS
Feb 11, 2024

Naomi Osaka explains why she’s investing in women’s sports

Osaka, one of the world's most marketable athletes, plans to stay involved in the world of sports even after her tennis career ends.
Baseball player Shohei Ohtani poses with his Japanese interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara (right), and his agent, Nez Balelo, during a news conference after signing a 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers last year.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 22, 2024

Shohei Ohtani scandal raises the stakes on sports betting

The speed at which U.S. sports leagues have embraced betting put the Japanese star's fastball to shame.
Hakuoho (right) shoves out Aoiyama during the Nagoya Basho in July last year. The promising young wrestler is now part of Terunofuji's Isegahama stable after the Miyagino stable was forced to close following a bullying scandal.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 3, 2024

With absorption of Miyagino stable, Isegahama looks to be building sumo super team

Whether it’s Real Madrid’s famous Galacticos or the 2024 Dodgers, few things in sport divides opinion among fans more than the creation of a super team.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan