News On Japan

Golf: Japan win Queen Sirikit Cup

May 27, 2022 (straitstimes.com) - SINGAPORE - As a junior golfer, Mizuki Hashimoto was inspired by a meeting with compatriot and former world No. 1 Ai Mizayato.

Ahead of this week's Queen Sirikit Cup at the par-72 Masters course at Laguna National, the 19-year-old thought: "How great it would be if we could emulate her and win the tournament for Japan just like she did in 2002?"

That would be no small feat as South Korea had won the last six editions.

However, on Friday (May 27), Hashimoto and her 17-year-old teammates Ayaka Tezuka and Miku Ueta did just that, as they delivered a gross combined score (only the best two scores of each round count) of 20-under 556 and romped to a seven-stroke victory over New Zealand.

South Korea finished third at 10-under 566, while hosts Singapore were fourth out of 13 teams on nine-under 567, which is their joint-best finish since the tournament began in 1979.

It was by no means straightforward for Japan as the New Zealanders had closed the gap to just one stroke after the third round on Thursday. ...continue reading

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Japan’s World Cup campaign ended in the cruelest possible fashion on June 29, as Gabriel Martinelli scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to give Brazil a 2-1 victory over the Samurai Blue in their knockout match in Houston. Japan had led in the first half and were still level at 1-1 in the final moments, but Martinelli’s late strike sent Brazil into the Round of 16 and eliminated Japan from the tournament.

Strong earthquakes have continued to shake parts of Japan in recent weeks, with 11 temblors measuring lower 5 or above on the Japanese seismic intensity scale recorded across the country since April 2026.

A Kintetsu Railway train derailed inside Kyoto Station on the morning of June 29, forcing partial suspensions on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line for the rest of the day and causing long delays that hit commuters, students and tourists.

A section of stone wall at Hikone Castle, one of Japan’s few surviving original Edo-period castles and a National Treasure whose main keep remains intact more than 400 years after its construction, collapsed after heavy rain caused by Typhoons No. 7 and No. 8, Hikone city officials said.

Japan advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup after a 1-1 draw with Sweden on June 25, finishing second in Group F and setting up a Round of 32 clash with Brazil in Houston.

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