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Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
May 26, 2002

Soccer coach for the intellectually challenged lets 'em play

After being made head coach of the national soccer team last August, Hiroshi Ohashi's first order was for the grown-ups to get off the pitch.
SOCCER / Women's World Cup
Jul 18, 2023

WE League chair: Japan sees 'cute' players, not elite athletes

Momentum behind women’s soccer in Japan has stalled in the years since its 2011 triumph and 2015 runner-up finish, even as global interest in women’s sports accelerates.
SOCCER / Women's World Cup
Jul 12, 2023

Fukushima-born Jun Endo ready to run free for Japan at World Cup

The Angel City forward recalls watching the 2011 final in the middle of the night with her parents and three siblings, describing it as 'a turning point' in her life.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jul 10, 2023

Iran to allow women to attend league soccer matches

Women in Iran, who have long been barred from attending soccer matches except for rare occasions, will be allowed into stadiums during the upcoming season, a top official said Sunday.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Oct 3, 2022

Seventeen children listed among dead after Indonesian soccer stampede

'Seventeen children died and seven were treated, but there is a possibility that could increase,' a ministry official said.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 15, 2021

Messi’s PSG in league of its own for French soccer TV cash

New Ligue 1 TV rights distribution plan is likely to upset some of French soccer's most historic clubs, which could find themselves in the lowest tier.
PRESS / Events
Dec 1, 2021

“Tackling social exclusion through soccer” with Naofumi Suzuki

The Japan Times Cube Inc. (representative director: Minako Suematsu) launched Roundtable by The Japan Times, a series of talk events broadcasted in Japan.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Nov 25, 2021

English soccer risks financial chaos without more even sharing

A report published late Wednesday found that despite the wealth in the Premier League, teams across the English game have fallen into administration 62 times since 1992.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Aug 19, 2021

Former Afghanistan women's soccer captain advises players to burn uniforms and delete photos

'What we are seeing is a country collapsing,' Khalida Popal said. 'All the pride, happiness to be there to empower women and men of the country, is like it was just wasted.'
Japan Times
SOCCER
Aug 17, 2021

Doomed Super League architects rejoin top European soccer body

Spanish soccer giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, as well as Italy's Juventus — also among the clubs behind the Super League — are not due to rejoin the ECA, however.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2021

The beautiful game has turned ugly in China

Pressure on embattled retailer Suning Appliance Group Co. forced the conglomerate to reconsider its investment in the team. China's soccer bubble is rapidly deflating.
Japan Times
SOCCER / From the Spot
Aug 7, 2019

Soccer commentator turned dream into reality

Foreigners living in Japan have few opportunities to introduce their favorite sports teams. For English teachers, it's usually in front of a class of attentive elementary or junior high school students. For others, it's an easy way to start a conversation at their local bar, especially while a Premier...
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 13, 2019

Keisuke Honda calls for Japanese clubs to focus on defending

Tuesday's Asian Champions League game at Edion Stadium in Hiroshima marked exactly 4,112 days since Keisuke Honda had last stood on a Japanese pitch representing his club rather than his country.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 16, 2018

'All Japan' World Cup team gave fans and the media much to mull over

Regardless of musical chairs with the manager job, the Japanese are basking in the afterglow of having made it to the round of 16 when few people had thought they could pull it off.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2015

FIFA needs a total overhaul

Soccer finds itself in the gravest crisis of its history, and FIFA must be reconstituted from scratch if the beautiful game is to thrive.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 8, 2014

Sony urges vigorous FIFA probe of Qatar World Cup 'bribes'

Sony Corp. became the first World Cup sponsor to call for a thorough investigation into accusations bribes were paid to secure the 2022 tournament for Qatar, raising pressure on soccer chiefs who have threatened to move the event if the allegations are proved true.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jun 5, 2014

Cheer on the Samurai Blue at events across the country

It may be nicknamed the "beautiful game," but these days it can sometimes be hard to see soccer as anything but ugly.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Aug 24, 2008

Future looking grim for Olympic soccer

Argentina successfully defended its Athens Games gold in the Bird's Nest on Saturday, but events off the pitch have made sure little else about Olympic soccer will be the same again.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / THE WRITERS' SPIN
May 31, 2002

Keio professor applies soccer tactics to business

Watching World Cup soccer games may give corporate managers a good clue about productive organization. Shunsuke Takahashi, an expert on human resources management, said that in a "soccer style" organization, team members work autonomously and flexibly. Even defenders can take shots on goal.
MORE SPORTS
May 28, 2000

Japanese soccer finished, or glory days still ahead?

This past week the lists of the top income taxpayers in Japan were announced and bantered about in all the media. And, as this country loves youth like just about no other, 17-year-old singing sensation Hikaru Utada and 19-year-old Seibu Lions pitching phenom Daisuke Matsuzaka garnered more attention...
MULTIMEDIA / SPORTS SCOPE
May 11, 2000

Wanted: soccer manager for long-term relationship

Heard enough about Japan soccer boss Philippe Troussier recently? OK, I understand. Don't worry, this is not about him. Well, not much. Today, we go one step beyond to the big question: Who would be right for the job as coach of the Japanese soccer team, assuming it's not going to be Troussier?
JAPAN
May 8, 1998

Panel OKs soccer lotto; bill foe Tanaka kicked out

A revised bill to introduce a soccer lottery system to raise funds to promote sports activities was approved Friday by a Lower House panel, bringing the lucrative but controversial legislation one step closer to enactment.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Jul 21, 2023

Nadeshiko Japan's Women's World Cup glory now distant memory

Japan begins its latest World Cup campaign against Zambia on Saturday, but is ranked 11th now and no longer among the favorites.
SOCCER / J. League / From the Spot
Oct 24, 2023

Go Kuroda's one-year revolution brings Zelvia to J1 promised land

The western Tokyo club will play in the top flight for the first time in 2024 as it continues to flourish on and off the pitch.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino announces Brazil as the host of the 2027 Women's World Cup during the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok on Friday.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
May 17, 2024

Brazil named as host of 2027 Women's World Cup

FIFA chose to continue its push to expand women's soccer by taking the tournament to South America for the first time.
Machida Zelvia's Yu Hirakawa (center) is challenged by Albirex Niigata's Yuto Horigome during the two teams' J. League clash at Machida Gion Stadium in Machida, Tokyo, on Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 4, 2024

From nonleague to top of the league for upstarts Machida

The team from Tokyo's suburbs tops the table approaching the halfway point of the season.
Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu gives a speech after his team clinched a spot in the 2026 World Cup with a win over Bahrain on Thursday in Saitama.
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 23, 2025

Japan's quiet World Cup celebrations show it is hungry for much more

Samurai Blue celebrated its qualification for the World Cup with victory speeches and a water shower for coach Hajime Moriyasu. But this squad has much bigger aims.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan