 |
(December 27, 2002)
On November 1 the star of Japan's most popular pro
baseball team, Tokyo's Yomiuri
Giants, announced his desire to play in the
U.S. Major Leagues from next season. |
 |
(November 18, 2002)
Sports
days are one of the classic symbols of autumn in Japan and are
held in kindergartens, in elementary, middle, and high schools, and in
communities all across the country. |
 |
(October 23, 2002)
Sumo champion Takanohana recently returned from a
knee injury to take part in the autumn
tournament after an absence of one year and four months, rekindling
interest in the sport. |
 |
(October 17, 2002)
A style of fighting known as mixed martial arts is currently enjoying
a boom in Japan. |
 |
(September 19, 2002)
Japan's strength in the sport of swimming
appears to stem from the zeal of its people for swim training. |
 |
(August 21, 2002)
Japanese professional baseball received its first Cuban import this July,
as Omar Linares, an Olympic gold medalist in 1992
and 1996, joined the Chunichi Dragons. |
 |
(August 19, 2002)
Sumo, Japan's national sport, recently welcomed its first ever Mongolian
ozeki, 21-year-old Asashoryu (real name: Dolgorsuren
Dagvadorj). He is the fourth foreign ozeki,
following in the footsteps of Konishiki, Akebono, and Musashimaru, who
are all from Hawaii. |
|
(August 12, 2002)
During the World Cup, many Japanese people became hooked on the global language of soccer.
Futsal, or five-a-side
soccer, has capitalized on these feelings among fans. The number of people
playing this sport in Japan is rising sharply. |
 |
(August 1, 2002)
More and more middle-aged and older people in Japan
are making their childhood dreams come true by taking off into the air
on paragliders. |
 |
(July 8, 2002)
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, captivated
the Japanese public throughout June. |
|
(July 1, 2002)
With the number of middle-aged and elderly Japanese
mountaineers seeking to challenge the world's peaks increasing, three
Japanese climbers set new world records in May. |
|
(May 28, 2002)
In a survey on spectator sports, Japanese professional
baseball was the number-one choice of fans for the eighth year in
a row. |
 |
(May 21, 2002)
2002 FIFA World Cup competing
teams have been arriving at their camp venues around Japan. |
 |
(April 18, 2002)
In an online survey, nearly half the respondents were optimistic that the Japanese team will progress
past the first round of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. |
 |
(March 26, 2002)
Martial arts schools and boxing
gyms are taking in more and more female students, and a boxing gym exclusively
for women has also been established. |
 |
(March 22, 2002)
Teams are beginning in earnest their final preparations
for the first World Cup of the twenty-first century. |
 |
(February 28, 2002)
The first FIFA World Cup
of the twenty-first century, to be jointly hosted by Japan and South Korea,
will begin on May 31. Japan, which qualified automatically for the finals
as one of the host nations, began preparing for the tournament in late January. |
 |
(January 30, 2002)
Most of the athletes who will represent Japan at the 2002 Winter Olympics
in Salt Lake City, Utah have been selected. |
 |
(January 29, 2002)
Marathons and other long-distance running events
are immensely popular in Japan, and one such race has become an essential
New Year custom. The Tokyo-Hakone Ofuku Daigaku Ekiden is one of the most popular such events in the sporting
calendar. |
 |
(January 10, 2002)
Japanese baseball fans were mesmerized throughout
the year by the play of Major League outfielder Ichiro. |
 |
(December 28, 2001)
The groupings for the first round of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan were decided at the draw in Busan, South Korea, on December
1. |
 |
(November 28, 2001)
Japan's most popular pro baseball team, the Tokyo
Yomiuri Giants, lost its long-time player and manager, Shigeo Nagashima,
when he retired at the end of the 2001 season. |
 |
(October 11, 2001)
The sixth World Games, an international multi-sports
spectacle featuring events not included in the Olympic Games, took place
from August 16 to 26 in the northern prefecture of Akita. Some 4,000 athletes
and officials from 87 countries and regions participated in the quadrennial
event, providing thrilling competition. |
 |
(August 24, 2001)
Six candidates
for Japan's World Cup squad will play the coming season abroad, all of
them in their early twenties. Never
before have so many Japanese stars plied their trade overseas at the same
time. Fans in Japan have great expectations for what they can achieve
playing alongside some of the biggest soccer stars in the world. |
 |
(August 20, 2001)
Major League Baseball fever has struck Japan this
year, and the exploits of Japanese baseball players active in the United
States are reported in detail on the nightly news and covered extensively
throughout the media. This sudden popularity of Major League Baseball
is due in large part to outfielder Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners. |
 |
(July 25, 2001)
One year before the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which will
be held jointly in Japan and South Korea, the popularity of soccer in
Japan is on the up. It is still unclear whether soccer's popularity will
last, but what is certain is that Japan has entered a period in which
the public's interest in sport is not limited to baseball. |
 |
(April 10, 2001)
Traditional Kids' Play Finds New Popularity |
|
(March 27, 2001)
Millions Apply for World Cup Seats |
 |
(February 26, 2001)
Fans Regret Retirement of First Foreign-Born Yokozuna |
 |
(January 30, 2001)
Olympic Medalists Still Busy Celebrating |
 |
(January 22, 2001)
Shinjo Follows Ichiro to the Major Leagues |
Copyright (C)2007 Web Japan. Edited by Japan Echo Inc. based on domestic Japanese news sources. Articles presented here are offered for reference purposes and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government.
