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Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 17, 2022

China’s gamble on a new Olympic strategy pays off in gold medals

China's most successful Winter Olympics team ever is a motley lineup that includes the son of hockey legend Chris Chelios, a former child actor and a Louis Vuitton model.
OLYMPICS
Jul 19, 2021

The many faces of Tokyo 2020’s charm offensive

Despite a lack of visitors and spectators at this year's Olympics, an army of volunteers aims to do their best and make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 26, 2021

‘Cascade of calamities’ plagues Tokyo’s Olympic ambitions

While polls show a majority of Japan's citizens want the Olympics postponed or canceled, so far there's no indication Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will call them off.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 8, 2021

Olympic boycott risks becoming the next big U.S.-China battle

While most diplomats doubted there would be an outright boycott, they noted that a lot can change before the opening ceremony 10 months from now.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Mar 16, 2021

In rare move, athletes and coaches speak out against Olympic planners

With support for the Tokyo Games still low, hopeful participants are taking to social media to push back against public perceptions that they are united with the event's organizers.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 14, 2019

News outlets miss pivotal factor in decision to shift 2020 Olympic events

When the International Olympic Committee announced that the marathon and race walk competitions for next year's Olympics would be moved to Hokkaido due to fears that the summer heat in Tokyo might be too intense, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike had no choice but to accept the directive, although she made a point...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Feb 14, 2019

Joint Korean 2032 Olympic bid faces hurdles of sanctions, cultural differences and state of war

If North and South Korea succeed in their long-shot bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics, any athletic feats may be overshadowed by the political achievements needed to make the games happen.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2016

Jingoism is the ugly side of the Olympic Games

The Olympics should focus more on the feats of human athletic attainment and less on the nationalities of the competitors.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2013

At stake in bid — ¥3 trillion

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government estimates that hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics will produce economic effects worth ¥3 trillion from Hokkaido to Okinawa.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Longform
Oct 3, 2022

What Japan’s iconic beef can teach us about ‘soft power’

The upcoming u2018Wagyu Olympics' in Kagoshima Prefecture is expected to create much-needed buzz about the industry among consumers at home and abroad.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 4, 2022

Olympic delegations should side with Taiwan and leave their national flags at home

Although the Olympic Charter forbids discrimination, the International Olympic Committee bans the Taiwanese from expressing their national identity, even after a hard-earned victory.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Nov 27, 2021

In IOC’s ‘quiet diplomacy,’ critics see whitewash of China’s actions

For the its many critics, the guarded language the IOC used when referring to the Peng case was just the latest proof that it will not take any action that might upset China's government.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 10, 2021

A first time for everything: The many ways history was made at Tokyo 2020

Plenty of records were broken and a number of new sports were introduced. But beyond the more obvious first, there was a dizzying array of accomplishments and milestones.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 29, 2021

Men's Olympic soccer and the struggle for legitimacy

Poor performances by some of the sport's powerhouses, including France — who were beaten by Japan 4-0 on Wednesday — are a reminder that the Olympic tourney is a different beast.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jan 5, 2021

Extreme sports gain legitimacy through Olympic inclusion

The Tokyo Games will feature skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing in an effort to bring more young fans into the Olympic community.
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2020

Ad behemoth faces claims of conflict of interest in Tokyo Olympic campaign

“Adult understanding” investigated as a potential conflict of interest for the Japanese advertising giant.
Haruka Nakamura (left) celebrates with teammate Kohane Ushioku during the women's gymnastics qualification round for the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
OLYMPICS
Jul 29, 2024

Japan's gymnastics team puts in solid performance despite missing captain

The teenage athletes' Olympics journey had got off to an inauspicious start after 19-year-old captain Shoko Miyata was sent home just days before the Games.
Police officers patrol past travelers during service disruptions at Gare de Lyon railway station in Paris on Friday. Trains to and from Paris were hit by what authorities called a “massive attack aimed at paralyzing the network” of France’s superfast trains just hours ahead of the inauguration ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games.
WORLD
Jul 30, 2024

French Olympic security caught out by ‘soft underbelly’ attacks

Overnight Sunday across France, cables in multiple locations carrying broadband service were cut.
Gold medalists Wang Manyu (left), Sun Yingsha (center) and Chen Meng celebrate on the podium after winning gold in the women's table tennis team event at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
OLYMPICS / Table tennis
Aug 11, 2024

China completes golden sweep of table tennis with women's team win over Japan

China has now won 37 of the 42 golds since table tennis debuted at the Summer Olympics in 1988.
World Boxing president Boris van der Vorst at the Olympic Council of Asia general assembly in New Delhi on Sunday
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Sep 10, 2024

World Boxing chief urges national federations to save Olympic dream

The IOC has warned boxing would miss the cut in Los Angeles if national federations failed to appoint a new global body.
Chieko Tsukahara, former head coach of the Japanese women's gymnastics team, died from stomach cancer on Sept. 1.
SPORTS
Oct 21, 2024

Former Olympic gymnast Chieko Tsukahara dies at 77

Olympic gymnasts Maiko Morio, Mari Kosuge and Koko Tsurumi are among those who trained under Tsukahara.
Shohei Ohtani waves toward the fans after a game on Sept. 19 against the Marlins in Miami in which the Dodgers' superstar had a performance for the ages, compiling six hits, including three home runs, and two stolen bases to become the first member of MLB's 50-50 club.
SPORTS
Dec 29, 2024

Sports images of 2024: Olympic drama and Shohei Ohtani's season for the ages

On the global stage of sports, Japan's Olympians and baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani showed the world what they were made of.
Gabriela Dabrowski (right) and Erin Routliffe celebrate after winning the doubles final at the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Nov. 9, 2024.
TENNIS
Jan 2, 2025

Gabriela Dabrowski reveals run to Olympic bronze came amid cancer treatment

Dabrowski said her "surreal" second half of the 2024 season included two surgeries and radiotherapy.
Outgoing IOC President Thomas Bach delivers a speech at an IOC session on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS
Mar 20, 2025

IOC names outgoing boss Bach as honorary president for life

Bach, a German lawyer and former Olympic fencing champion, took over in 2013 and immediately introduced wide-ranging reforms.

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it