This year’s X Games in Japan looked slightly different than the two before it. Instead of being staged in the elements at Zozo Marine Stadium, the action sports event moved indoors to Makuhari Messe this year — a preemptive strike against the rain that disrupted things in 2022 and 2023.
The X Games will get another makeover in 2026 when it shifts to a league format with multiple events around the globe. Japan’s role in the new ecosystem remains to be seen, but officials appear confident the X Games will continue to hold an event in Japan.
"We're very committed to Japan and will be for the foreseeable future for sure,” X Games Chief Revenue Officer Eric Johnson told The Japan Times at Makuhari Messe in Chiba. “There's a lot of connection we see. There's a community of action sports fans and athletes and aficionados around the world, and they've never been fully connected.
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