Sapporo TV Tower tested the countdown display that will signal the start of the Hokkaido Marathon, with about one month remaining before the race on August 30.
Sekiwake Aonishiki said he will target sumo’s highest rank after winning his third career championship at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament and securing an immediate return to ozeki.
World Boxing Council bantamweight champion Takuma Inoue will face top-ranked challenger and former kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa in a highly anticipated rematch at Toyota Arena Tokyo on September 27, organizers announced on July 23.
Former professional tennis player Rika Hiraki, who won the mixed doubles title at the 1997 French Open, has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in a romance scam.
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.