author

 
Menu
Search
 
November 21, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Twitter

@JohnGunningISJ

John Gunning
Japan Times
SUMO
Mar 23, 2023
Amateur yokozuna Daiki Nakamura joins Nishonoseki stable
The NSSU graduate's extensive list of titles in amateur sumo will allow him to start his professional career in May at the rank of makushita 10 (tsukedashi) in the third tier.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 15, 2023
Pressure back on JSA to reconnect with fans as pandemic ends
After nearly three years of restrictions, there are plenty of ways for sumo officials to widen the sport's audience both domestically and globally.
Japan Times
SUMO
Mar 10, 2023
Yokozuna promotion appears within Takakeisho's grasp at Spring Basho
Reaching sumo’s highest rank is one of the toughest challenges in all of sport, but the odds of Takakeisho achieving it later this month appear good.
Japan Times
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 Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 1, 2023
Makuuchi's international brotherhood grows with Kazakhstan's arrival
Kinbozan’s promotion to the rank of maegashira has resulted in sumo’s top tier gaining its first-ever wrestler from the central Asian nation.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Feb 26, 2023
CFL deepens links with Japanese football in combine's fourth year
The international combines and draft are a part of a global outreach program, dubbed CFL 2.0, that was initiated by CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie in 2018.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 22, 2023
Sumo's changed landscape reflected in 2023 depth chart
If all 600 or so active rikishi, and those projected to join in the near future, were available to be chosen by stables, which men would make the top eight?
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 15, 2023
Hawaiian sumo makes triumphant return to Kokugikan ring at Hakuho Cup
After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2021 edition and kept foreign wrestlers away in 2022, the former yokozuna's annual youth tournament was back in force on Sunday.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 1, 2023
Hakuho positions himself to dominate sumo once again
Now known as Miyagino, the former yokozuna's proactive recruiting style has seen the stable add some seriously impressive talent under his watch.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 25, 2023
Not promoting Takakeisho is the right move for both him and sumo
Against a field which contained no other ozeki or yokozuna, the 26-year-old failed to dominate in a manner which would have made promotion impossible to deny.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 24, 2023
Japanese football misses its big opportunity in Dream Bowl game
Frustration dominates after the Japan All Star team fell 24-20 to an Ivy League selection in a gripping and tightly fought match at Tokyo’s National Stadium.
Japan Times
SUMO
Jan 18, 2023
Unstoppable Asanoyama well-positioned for return to top division
After serving a long suspension for violating the Japan Sumo Association's COVID-19 guidelines, the former ozeki is battling his way back to makuuchi with flair.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 11, 2023
Hoshoryu's recent rise may earn him a speedy promotion
Japan's national sport has been going through a period of flux over the past few years and is in desperate need of a new marquee name.
Japan Times
SUMO
Jan 6, 2023
Takakeisho enters New Year Basho with golden opportunity
The first professional sumo tournament of the year gets underway at the Kokugikan in Tokyo this weekend.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 4, 2023
Another season of turbulence in store for sumo in 2023
While there are several candidates to become sumo's next big thing, it seems likely that it will take time for one or more wrestlers to separate themselves from their rivals.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 21, 2022
Sumo's topsy-turvy 2022 showed hopeful signs for sport's recovery
For the first time in over 30 years, all six grand tournaments in a calendar year were won by different wrestlers, with rank-and-filers sweeping the final three tournaments.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 14, 2022
High school hopefuls make leap into professional sumo
While university graduates have dominated headlines at recent tournaments, just one of eight new wrestlers entering the sport ahead of the New Year Basho boasts a college background.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 8, 2022
Wrestlers with amateur backgrounds becoming new normal in sumo
These days elite top-tier wrestlers without an amateur background are an increasingly scarce sight.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Nov 30, 2022
Focused Abi completes redemption arc in Fukuoka
Two years after his infamous suspension for violating COVID-19 protocols, the Saitama native won his first Emperor's Cup after triumphing in a rare multi-way playoff at the Kyushu Basho.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Nov 23, 2022
In the land of baseball, sumo and soccer share a close relationship
Japan's national sport and the 'beautiful game' have formed many ties over the years, with even top-ranked wrestlers attending matches and taking part in promotional events.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’
Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER