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Japan Times
Rugby
May 4, 2023

Former World Rugby President Bernard Lapasset dies

Bernard Lapasset, former president of rugby union's governing body and the driving force behind Paris' successful 2024 Olympic bid, has died. He was 75.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Apr 18, 2023

Transgender basketball player barred from Australian competition

The panel, which included a medical officer and a sports and exercise physician, ruled Lexi Rodgers ineligible, adding that such eligibility was assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA
Apr 16, 2023

Michael Jordan was an activist after all

On the first road trip of his NBA career, in the fall of 2001, Etan Thomas looked out the window of the Washington Wizards’ team bus and was stunned by the massing crowd around the hotel.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Apr 6, 2023

The tangled inner world of LIV Golf

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been a public cheerleader for LIV, which played two tournaments at his company’s courses last year.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Apr 4, 2023

Ben Affleck hopes to score Michael Jordan's approval for 'Air' biopic

Despite glowing reviews from critics and audiences since its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March, the retired Chicago Bull’s verdict on the movie still is not in.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Mar 28, 2023

Hundreds of fencers issue plea to IOC over Russia and Belarus decision

The decision to clear Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in international fencing events was made on March 10 at the FIE Extraordinary Congress.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Mar 24, 2023

Transgender athletes banned from women's World Athletics events

The decision-making body will set up a working group headed by a transgender person to further monitor scientific developments.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 23, 2023

WBC baseball victory is a triumph for Japan’s soft power

The nation’s lost decades don’t extend to sports. That will help drive Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s narrative as he prepares to host the Group of Seven in Hiroshima.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 22, 2023

A subtropical haven for conventions

Selecting the perfect location for a major convention or training camp requires a delicate balance. The need to provide high-quality infrastructure and ensure the safety and comfort of participants must be supported by interesting cultural sights and activities. And having good weather certainly helps....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 12, 2023

Reina Iizuka: ‘Rugby and football are basically cousins’

She was the first woman to play university-level men's tackle football in Canada and now Reina Iizuka has come to Japan and joined a rugby squad.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 8, 2023

In sumo, size doesn't matter (much)

The lack of weight classes in Japan's national sport makes it unique among combat sports such as boxing, where smaller competitors would quickly find themselves overpowered.
JAPAN / Explainer
Feb 15, 2023

The continuing saga of the Tokyo Games scandal

The arrest of four more people last week has shaken the Japanese Olympic Committee and dealt a further blow to Sapporo’s quest to host the 2030 Winter Games.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 10, 2023

IOC President Thomas Bach responds to Ukraine's call to boycott Paris Games

Bach said Ukraine's efforts in 'pressuring' other countries to boycott the 2024 Games was 'extremely regrettable.'
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 3, 2023

TEDx star hopes to turn message into Disney film

Japanese entrepreneur, educator and consultant Kunio Hara garnered the greatest number of views on TEDx Talks in 2022, out of a total of 15,900 speakers worldwide. He is the first Japanese to become the most popular speaker of the year on the Technology, Entertainment and Design platform.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Feb 2, 2023

Premier League January spending spree sends records tumbling

Big-spending Chelsea set a new British record in signing Argentina's World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for €121 million.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jan 31, 2023

IOC rejects 'defamatory' criticism from Ukraine

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak described the body as promoting 'violence, mass murders, destruction' with its comments on possibly Russian participation.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jan 29, 2023

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushes to keep Russia out of 2024 Games

Ukraine says it could boycott the Summer Games in Paris if Russian and Belarusian athletes take part.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jan 26, 2023

Russian athletes could participate in Asian competitions, IOC indicates

The IOC said on Wednesday the Olympic Council of Asia had offered Russian and Belarusian athletes the chance to compete in Asia.
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
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jul 19, 2023

Amateur sumo star embarks on journey made for Hollywood with NCAA football move

Hidetora Hanada will be joining the Colorado State Rams, marking another huge step in what has been a whirlwind 16 months for the university sumo superstar.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jul 16, 2023

Refugee soccer team breaking boundaries with globetrotting tour

Formed just months ago in Utah, Team SheBelongs aims to promote acceptance and change the global conversation surrounding refugees and displaced persons.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jul 11, 2023

Adam Silver determined to keep individuals in control of NBA franchises

Per the NBA's investment rules, the controlling owner of an NBA franchise must own at least 15% of the franchise.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jul 10, 2023

Business behind basketball: Ryukyu Golden Kings leap ahead

The Okinawa team is being seen as a leading model in Japanese basketball's rise and preparations for new reforms to the B. League in 2026.
Disney and cable giant Charter Communications are negotiating over how much Charter will pay Disney to carry its channels.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2023

Behind the Disney-Charter dispute over the future of TV

Media companies are trying to build profitable streaming services while cable providers feel like they're subsidizing a business that cannibalizes them.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Sep 16, 2023

Rugby turns 200: A history of the sport in Japan

As the sport of rugby turns 200, Japan hopes to celebrate its own success in a game that first arrived in the 1860s.
The Olympic and Russian flags during the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.
OLYMPICS
Dec 9, 2023

IOC clears some Russians to compete in Paris as neutrals

The IOC added that there were currently only eight athletes from Russia and three from Belarus who had qualified as neutral athletes.
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama dunks during a game against the Grizzlies on Tuesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jan 6, 2024

Victor Wembanyama sets course to become a basketball billionaire unlike any other

Known to fans as "Wemby,” Victor Wembanyama entered the NBA with a level of buzz unlike any player since LeBron James.
Wakatakakage competes at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament in November. In sumo, early-arriving fans get to see some of the drama unfold in the lower tiers of the sport.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Jan 10, 2024

For sumo fans, the drama doesn’t end with the top tier of wrestlers

Starting Sunday in Tokyo, myriad storylines are set to play out in sumo's lower ranks.
When Fighters interpreter Shinju Sakuma set her mind on becoming a language liaison in sports, she picked a sport she enjoyed watching and an employer who thinks outside the box.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 26, 2024

Rookie female interpreter provides voice for foreign baseball stars in Japan

Shinju Sakuma, who will graduate from Rikkyo University in Tokyo this spring, is believed to be the first female interpreter in NPB history.

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