Young Wrestlers Battle for National Sumo Tournament

Japan's largest pickleball facility has opened in Higashiizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, with 20 courts available by reservation as the town seeks to establish itself as a leading destination for the fast-growing sport.

Foreign tourists are filling an interactive sumo show venue in Tokyo’s Asakusa district, where former wrestlers introduce the basics, rules and history of the sport in English as Japan’s traditional pastime enjoys growing popularity at home and abroad.

Waseda Jitsugyo held off a ninth-inning rally by Hachioji to win a first-round showdown between two schools with Koshien experience in the West Tokyo high school baseball tournament on July 10.

Japan national soccer team coach Hajime Moriyasu, captain Ko Itakura of Ajax, Daizen Maeda of Celtic, Yukinari Sugawara of Bremen and Japan Football Association President Tsuneyasu Miyamoto visited Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Yohei Matsumoto on July 8 following Japan's campaign at the FIFA World Cup hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first Japanese player to reach 300 career home runs in Major League Baseball, hitting a solo shot in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies in Los Angeles on July 7.

Shonan Galleon, a 210 million yen colt by Flightline, made a striking debut at Hakodate Racecourse on Sunday, July 5, winning the fifth race over 1,800 meters on turf in record time for a 2-year-old on the course.

Two yokozuna seeking to rebound after time away from the ring drew loud cheers from about 5,000 spectators on July 4 as they performed the traditional ceremonial ring entry at Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya ahead of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.

Some names change the game, and Conor McGregor is one of them.