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The Formula One track in Las Vegas is lit up ahead of the Grand Prix on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 16, 2023

Formula One’s Las Vegas race isn’t living up to the hype

Liberty Media, the owner of F1, has started to lower profit expectations for the race, blaming unexpected costs.
Yoshiko Koide sits in a classroom at Nagoya College where she teaches a Japanese-language observation seminar.
LIFE / Language / Longform
Nov 27, 2023

How a dictionary came to spark outrage among the web’s otaku

A project to create a reference book categorizing subcultures didn't seem to cause offense until it was packaged and sold as a dictionary.
Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto was named to his third straight Best Nine team on Monday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 27, 2023

Yoshinobu Yamamoto named to third straight Best Nine team

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the runaway choice as the best pitcher in the Pacific League on Monday, when the winners of NPB’s annual Best Nine awards were announced.
In 2022, MLB umpires wore FTX patches on their sleeves.
SOCCER
Nov 29, 2023

MLB and Formula 1 face fraud suits for promoting FTX

Investors’ lawyers sued MLB and the other entities in U.S. federal court in Miami on Monday.
Tesla's new Cybertruck is displayed at a Tesla store in San Diego on Nov. 20.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2023

Tesla's Cybertruck is priced 50% higher than initial estimate

Cybertruck's new body material and unconventional, futuristic styling has added complexity and costs to production.
The floor is painted red for the NBA In-Season Tournament game between the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 3.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Dec 3, 2023

The NBA’s new in-season cup is bringing in viewers

Modeled after cup competitions in European football, the tourney is meant to add some spice to a sometimes bland stretch of the NBA calendar.
The Bulls' court is painted red for their NBA In-Season Tournament game against the Nets at the United Center in Chicago on Nov. 3.
BASKETBALL
Dec 4, 2023

New in-season tournament delivering early returns for NBA

The NBA In-season Tournament was established to add spice to the early part of the season.
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani on deck against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Aug. 28
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 5, 2023

Shohei Ohtani decision expected 'within the week,' reports say

The free agent two-way star is projected to receive a record-setting contract worth more than $500 million.
Outfielder Juan Soto is on the move to the New York Yankees in a blockbuster, seven-player deal.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 7, 2023

Yankees to acquire slugger Juan Soto in blockbuster trade

The Yankees will send four pitchers, including Michael King and Jhonny Brito, as part of the package to land the star outfielder.
New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman completed a seven-player deal this week, with the centerpiece headed to New York in 25-year-old slugger Juan Soto.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 8, 2023

Yankees want Juan Soto long-term. Is Yamamoto next?

The Yankees had a representative at every start made by Yamamoto, who has become a hot commodity in the MLB free agent market.
Yujiro Nakajimaya's advice for players new to hockey is that you have to know what you want to achieve. Is it a professional career? Then you need to challenge yourself.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 9, 2023

Yujiro Nakajimaya: ‘Overcoming adversity is an art’

At a young age, this hockey-playing Hokkaido native left for Canada and ended his journey playing in the NHL.
Delegates arrive at Dubai's Expo City during COP28 on Saturday
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 9, 2023

Oil is everywhere at COP28, vexing those seeking its demise

To many of the activists in attendance, the prominence of the oil and gas industry is a travesty.
Japan head coach Eddie Jones before a game against Scotland at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Jones will be returning to the post, the Japan Rugby Football Union announced Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Dec 14, 2023

Wounded Eddie Jones has plenty to prove on Japan return

The 63-year-old is revered in Japan for masterminding their "Miracle of Brighton" win over South Africa at the 2015 World Cup.
Sareee holds Konami by the limbs during a Sukeban event in Miami on Dec. 6. A unique form of Japanese wrestling that mixes fashion and theatrics has arrived in the United States.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 14, 2023

Can Sukeban make Japan-style female wrestling fashionable with Americans?

In Japanese women’s wrestling, athletes perform theatrical, hard-hitting punches and clever defenses while telling a story with their moves and costumes.
Baseball player Shohei Ohtani speaks during a news conference on his presentation after signing a 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 15, 2023

Dip Corporation shares rise after Ohtani named brand ‘ambassador’

Shares in the internet job agency gained by as much as 8.9% in Tokyo trading after the firm announced its tie-up with the star baseball player.
South Korea's Jung Hoo Lee bats during a World Baseball Classic pool game against Australia at Tokyo Dome on March 9.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 16, 2023

South Korea's Lee promises to impress San Francisco Giants fans

The 25-year-old left-handed slugger won five Golden Gloves as best overall KBO League player at his position over his seven seasons for the Kiwoom Heroes.
Tiger Woods laughs at a comment made by Justin Thomas (back) during the PNC Championship in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Dec 17, 2023

PGA Tour still aims to meet deadline for Saudi alliance, Woods says

The PGA Tour, scrambling to finalize its merger plans ahead of the deadline, has said it would proceed with talks with U.S.-based Strategic Sports Group.
Worshipers pray to the sea goddess Mazu at the Dajia Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung, Taiwan, on Nov. 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 21, 2023

China finds sudden faith in 'peace goddess' ahead of Taiwan vote

China sees faith in a sea goddess with origins in Fujian province as the "axis" of its influence operations, according to an intelligence analysis.
Shinjuku's Kabukicho is filled with colorful individuals that give the neighborhood its character.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Dec 22, 2023

Christmastime in Shinjuku Golden Gai

One of Tokyo's most storied watering holes gets a little quiet during the holidays now that it relies quite a bit on tourists.
The wife of Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly received an early holiday gift from her husband's new teammate, Shohei Ohtani.
BASEBALL
Dec 25, 2023

Shohei Ohtani gifts luxury wheels to new teammate's wife

During the Dodgers' courtship of Ohtani, Ashley Kelly offered up her husband's No. 17 to the Japanese slugger.
Onosato (left) and Nishonoseki stablemaster display the rankings list on Monday for the upcoming New Year's Grand Sumo Tournament, during which the highly touted Onosato will make his top-division debut.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 28, 2023

Who will grab the spotlight at sumo's first tourney of 2024?

Ozeki Kirishima has his sights set on the ultimate promotion, while debutant Onosato is looking to impress in his highly anticipated debut.
Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco during a game in Kansas City in July.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 29, 2023

Wander Franco a no-show to answer complaint in Dominican Republic

At least two people have filed lawsuits against Franco amid probes into claims he had improper relationships with minors.
Fiction such as Asako Yuzuki’s “Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder” and nonfiction like Robert Whiting’s "Gamblers, Fraudsters, Dreamers & Spies: The Outsiders who Shaped Modern Japan” are just a taste of 2024's exciting releases.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 11, 2024

Anticipated translations and books about Japan to brighten your 2024

From debut novels to classic crime thrillers, the year ahead promises a wealth of must-read titles to add to your reading list.
Iga Swiatek won the WTA Finals in November 2023 to end an event that featured bad weather and a number of complaints from the players.
TENNIS
Jan 15, 2024

WTA and ATP Tours embarking on year of formative changes

The WTA is looking to take steps toward equal pay for women at combined events, and the ATP hopes to align the interests of its players and tournaments.
An Xturismo bike flies over Lake Yamanaka in Yamanashi Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2024

Japanese flying bike startup A.L.I. Technologies files for bankruptcy

The Tokyo-based startup had aimed to play a key role in an expected “air mobility society.”
Rougned Odor, a 10-year MLB veteran, has reportedly signed a deal with the Yomiuri Giants of the Central League.
BASEBALL
Jan 21, 2024

Rougned Odor signs deal with Yomiuri Giants, report says

Odor, 29, played in 59 games for the San Diego Padres in 2023 before he was released in July, batting .203 with four home runs and 18 RBIs.
A replica of the Statue of Liberty in Taipei. There are markers all over Taiwan of its courtship of the United States.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 21, 2024

Taiwan’s doubts about America are growing. That could be dangerous.

Will deepening skepticism about the United States as a trustworthy nation diminish Taiwan’s belief that it could fend off China?
American President Joe Biden hugs Brittany Alkonis after giving a State of the Union in February. The wife of jailed U.S. sailor Lt. Ridge Alkonis ran a successful pressure campaign to get her husband released from a Japanese prison into American custody. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 24, 2024

Japan owes no apology for U.S. Navy officer’s treatment

The case of Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis is a divisive one, which both the U.S. and Japanese governments have tried to keep quiet about.
Photographer Robert Beck took the famous photo of Brandi Chastain celebrating the United States' victory in the Women's World Cup final in 1999 that appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
SPORTS
Jan 25, 2024

The Sports Illustrated cover, a faded canvas that once defined sports

Sports Illustrated's power to define sports discourse been steadily eroding, but it is hard to overstate the power it once had.
The precision landing made by the SLIM project is essential to establishing a manned base on the moon, which will depend on targeted supply missions.
EDITORIALS
Jan 26, 2024

Successful moon landing prepares Japan for the future

Japan is now the fifth country to successfully land a probe on the moon, following the U.S., Russia, China and India.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat