NEWSWORTHY
Japan to invite guests from 195 nations for events marking enthronement of new Emperor
A banquet to be hosted by Abe on Oct. 23 for the new Emperor will feature Japanese cultural performances, which will be overseen by kyogen actor Mansai Nomura.
Japan's 'Olympic ojiisan' dies with Tokyo 2020 dream unfulfilled
An Olympic mega-fan who attended every Summer Games since Tokyo in 1964 has died, just over a year before his home city was set to host its second Olympics. Tokyo businessman Naotoshi Yamada, 92, who died on March 9 from heart failure, was a national ...
Safety-minded Tokyo bracing for Olympic contingencies of all kinds
Cyberattacks, terrorism, earthquakes and heat waves: Tokyo's Olympic organizers are hoping for the best but bracing for the worst as they make contingency plans for potential catastrophes during the games. Clean and orderly Tokyo has been spared from the terror attacks seen in many ...
Japan to put robotics prowess on show during 2020 Olympics by helping staff and visitors alike
Acting on its aim to make the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics "the most innovative in history," organizers on Friday unveiled robots that will be deployed to assist spectators and staff during the games. The robots shown to reporters are to be used as part ...
JOC head Takeda likely to retire amid probe into Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid corruption, say sources
President Tsunekazu Takeda, who led Japan’s bid for the 2020 Olympics, is expected to retire amid a French investigation into alleged bribes involving the selection process.
In a blow to Japan, Sky Brown aims to skateboard for Britain at 2020 Olympics
Ten-year-old skateboarding sensation Sky Brown, who had been a medal hope for Japan at next year's Tokyo Olympics, on Thursday opted to qualify under the British flag. The pint-sized YouTube smash, born to a Japanese mother and a British father, said she had made the ...
Setsuko Takamizawa is determined to prove that it is never too late to learn as she bids to conquer the English language before the Tokyo Olympics, having been prevented from learning what was considered the "enemy language" in her youth. When Japan last hosted the ...
Swimming star Rikako Ikee said Wednesday she will not give up on competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics despite being diagnosed with leukemia a month ago. A day after local organizers marked 500 days until the start of the games, Ikee shared her resolution on ...
The Japan leg of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic torch relay will start at a the J-Village soccer facility in Fukushima Prefecture that is considered a symbol of the country's reconstruction from the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori said ...
Japan's 'Olympic ojiisan' hopes to complete 56-year odyssey at 2020 Tokyo Games
For most people, going to watch the Olympics is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but for 92-year-old superfan Naotoshi Yamada it has become a quadrennial ritual over the last five and a half decades. Yamada, known to his Japanese compatriots as "Olympic ojiisan" ("Olympic Grandad"), first experienced ...
Japan marks 500 days until 2020 Tokyo Olympics with events and official sport pictograms
Japan on Tuesday marked 500 days to go until next year's Tokyo Olympics formally begin as the local organizing committee unveiled a set of pictograms representing the different sports and competitions to be contested at the 2020 Summer Games. Also Tuesday, Yoshiro Mori, president of ...
The operator of Narita International Airport near Tokyo said Thursday it will introduce in spring 2020 a facial recognition technology-based system that enables passengers to board planes, after check-in, without showing their passports or boarding passes. Narita will be the first airport in the nation ...
