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BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Jan 13, 2020

Samurai Japan has chance to reach new audience at Tokyo Olympics

Samurai Japan manager Atsunori Inaba, during a lecture in Hokkaido last month, noted there was no parade after the national team's win in the Premier12 in November.
Rugby / ADDING THE EXTRAS
Feb 28, 2019

With ban lifted, Christian Loamanu hopes for return to Top League

Former Brave Blossoms wing Christian Loamanu is hoping for a shot at redemption and the opportunity to finish his rugby career in Japan. But he will have to get past some longstanding animosity and overcome some new challenges if his wish is to come true.
Rugby
Jan 25, 2016

Horie named Top League season MVP

Shota Horie of the Panasonic Wild Knights was on Monday selected as the best player of the 2015-16 Top League season in Japanese rugby's banner year.
Rugby
Aug 24, 2007

Wallabies receive strong support before departure

SYDNEY — The Australia national rugby union team's three-day training camp concluded on Wednesday with a public farewell function at Sydney's Town Hall, where a few hundred supporters alongside Prime Minister John Howard bade farewell to the Wallabies before their departure for the 2007 Rugby World...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jun 16, 2005

Ireland's defeat of Japan doesn't paint the whole picture

To borrow a phrase from those that usually watch the boys in silky shorts run around after a round ball -- "It's a funny old game."
MORE SPORTS
May 27, 2004

Tokyo plays host to Super Powers Cup

The Japan Rugby Football Union will host the second playing of the Super Powers Cup in Tokyo on Thursday at National Stadium with the tournament concluding on Sunday at Chichibunomiya.
MORE SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Nov 29, 2003

Top League looking to emulate World Cup final

While the rest of the world was watching the final stages of the action Down Under at the Rugby World Cup, it was business as usual for the players in the Top League.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 16, 2003

Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom Down Under

TOWNSVILLE, Australia -- Three days on and Australia is still abuzz with the performance of the Cherry Blossoms.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Feb 23, 2003

Try to score a pint here

Sports bars and pubs were big business during the 2002 World Cup Soccer finals cohosted by Japan and South Korea. Many opened in Tokyo just in time to milk the influx of fans. But for the three partners who teamed up to create the Clubhouse in Shinjuku, the soccer was simply a bonus. Their target had...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Nov 15, 2001

All together now, come on feel the noise

Having spent the last few years attending rugby games in Japan and noting how much the Japan Rugby Union, and the game's players and followers, need to learn from their counterparts overseas, I decided a change was as good as a rest.
MORE SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 12, 2001

New dawn for Mukai and his merry men

In 1999, the year of the last Rugby World Cup, Japan won the Pacific Rim Championship, recording a 37-34 victory over Samoa along the way. At the time many thought the victory marked the re-birth of Japanese rugby, and there was talk of Japan reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Sadly, that was...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 3, 2001

Tackling the man without the ball

Japan entered the home leg of the World Sevens Series hoping to put itself on the international rugby map and to give the sport in this country a much-needed morale boost.
Japan Times
Rugby
May 25, 2021

Retiring Kenki Fukuoka given MVP sendoff at Top League awards

The former Brave Blossoms star, whose Wild Knights won the league's last championship final over Sungoliath, received one last honor at Monday's event after bringing his five-year career to a close.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 16, 2020

Bad English in Japan: A conspiracy theory

There is no rational reason why Japan's English-language education should be so woeful. Could something sinister be going on?
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jul 11, 2015

Multisport culture failing to take root in Japan

Do we have anyone like Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders in Japan? Or the environment to potentially produce athletes like them?
Jingu Gaien is a famous landmark, park and sports center in Minato Ward, Tokyo. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 26, 2023

Tokyo's tree-razing drama shouldn't stymie transformation

Residents are raging over a redevelopment plan. But while other cities become stuck in time, Tokyo's best projects can combine the spirit of the past with the hope for the future.
Everyone should relax as Japan’s capital, Tokyo, isn’t ripping out thousands of trees to redevelop the famed Jingu Gaien park. Quite the opposite is planned.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 12, 2024

Tokyo's Jingu Gaien is at the center of an urban debate amid a redevelopment rift

Concerns about plans for Tokyo's Jingu Gaien may be exaggerated, as key trees will be preserved and more green space will be created post-development.
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 13, 2024

Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks

The English versions of Yamakawa Shuppansha's iconic textbooks appear to be popular among Japanese businesspeople looking to discuss history with their overseas peers.
A banner is displayed by Northern Ireland fans in protest against the redevelopment of Casement Park for use in Euro 2028, at Windsor Park in Belfast last October.
SOCCER
Aug 24, 2024

Derelict stadium for Euro 2028 highlights Belfast’s bitter divide

The issue is stirring up old divisions and proving to be an early headache for the Labour government.
The Australian team has connected with the residents of Fuchu during their time in the city.
BASEBALL
Nov 8, 2024

Fuchu becomes home away from home for Australia before Premier12

The Australians have been coming to the Western Tokyo city since 2018.
France's Antoine Dupont runs with the ball during a practice in Marcoussis, France, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jan 30, 2025

France set to open Six Nations campaign against 'transitioning' Wales

France's results have vastly improved since Galthie took over in 2020.
Emoni Narawa of New Zealand runs in a try during the All Blacks' win over South Africa on Saturday in Auckland.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 6, 2025

New Zealand holds off South Africa close battle in Auckland

Under pressure after conceding a first-ever defeat on Argentina soil against the Pumas two weeks ago, the All Blacks responded with a performance of grit and discipline.
Australia's Harry Grant in action with England's Jez Litten and Alex Walmsley at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Oct 31, 2025

Absence of key players no problem for Wallabies coach

The test falls outside World Rugby's window for the release of players, and Australia therefore must do without several European-based players.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years