TOKYO - Shohei Ohtani announced on November 25th that he will take part in the World Baseball Classic to be held in March 2026, stating on his Instagram account that he intends to join Japan’s national team, Samurai Japan.
The tournament, now in its sixth edition, brings together leading national and regional teams from around the world. Ohtani said he is “happy to be able to play for Japan again,” expressing his enthusiasm for returning to the international stage.
Source: テレ東BIZ
Sano in Tochigi Prefecture issued a Level 5 Emergency Safety Order at midnight on July 18 after the Hata River, which flows through the city, exceeded the designated flood occurrence level following heavy rain.
Japan is likely to face increasingly long and dangerously hot summers as global temperatures continue to rise, with advanced climate simulations also pointing to more frequent torrential rain, rising seas and accelerating ice loss by the end of the century.
Japan's revised Imperial House Law was enacted after clearing the House of Councillors with majority support, allowing female members to retain royal status after marriage and male-line descendants of former imperial family branches to enter the Imperial Household through adoption.
A tropical depression near the Truk Islands is expected to strengthen into a typhoon within 12 hours, but forecasters say it is unlikely to have any direct impact on Japan.
A protest against Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was held in Tokyo's Shibuya district on July 16 as public concern grew over a bill that would impose criminal penalties for damaging the Japanese flag.
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.
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.
