The annual Gatalympics festival was held on the mudflats of the Ariake Sea in Kashima City, Saga Prefecture, drawing about 1,400 participants from 13 countries and regions who battled through a series of unique mud-based events while becoming thoroughly covered in mud.
A pair of sisters from Aichi Prefecture are closing in on a dream they have pursued for nearly a decade, with Ren Matsumoto and Non Matsumoto aiming to secure a place at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after rising to the top of Japan's beach volleyball rankings through years of family sacrifice and determination.
Volleyball player Shunichiro Sato, a member of Japan’s men’s national team, was arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of possessing marijuana after allegedly leaving a bag containing the drug at a pachinko parlor in Tokyo.
Yomiuri Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe resigned on May 26th after being arrested on suspicion of assaulting his eldest daughter at the family’s home in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, a scandal that has sent shockwaves through Japanese professional baseball just before the start of interleague play.
Japan's national soccer team began a domestic training camp in Chiba on May 25th ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, with 13 players including 39-year-old Yuto Nagatomo of FC Tokyo and Daichi Kamada of Eintracht Frankfurt taking part in the opening session.
Wakatakakage completed a remarkable comeback from major knee surgery and a fall to the lower divisions by winning his second top-division championship at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on May 24th, ending a 25-tournament wait for another Emperor's Cup.