SPORTS NEWS

A center for coronavirus prevention will be in operation during the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics next summer. (NHK)

Top-favorite Contrail became Japanese racing's third undefeated triple crown winner Sunday, following in the footsteps of his sire, Deep Impact, by capturing the 81st running of the Kikka-sho, the last of the season's classic races. (Kyodo)

A ceremony was held on Saturday to mark the completion of the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, which will host swimming competitions in next year's Olympic and Paralympic Games. (NHK)

Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says the utmost effort is necessary to prevent coronavirus infections and fend off cyberattacks ahead of next year's rescheduled Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. (NHK)

Organizers of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, rescheduled for next year, have tested ways to carry out safety checks on spectators entering the venues of events. (NHK)

Japan has a rich sporting culture characterized by both traditional and modern games. (newsonjapan.com)

Yokohama Stadium will hold three baseball games at around 80% capacity later this month as Japan looks to test its COVID-19 countermeasures at big events ahead of the rearranged Tokyo Olympics next year. (Reuters)

Japan's first professional women's soccer league, the WE League, announced Thursday the 11 founding clubs selected to take part in its inaugural season starting next September. (Japan Today)

The government will test measures for preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus at events with large numbers of spectators in a trial late this month in a nearly-packed baseball stadium in Yokohama, officials said Thursday. (Japan Times)

A strong 13-2 title winning performance in the September tournament was enough to convince the Japan Sumo Association’s judging department to make Shodai the sport’s 251st ozeki. (Japan Times)

The Japanese Olympic Committee will move to protect female athletes from having nonconsensual photographs of a sexual nature snapped while they compete, an important step forward for the country as it seeks to create solidarity with and among victims of sexual abuse. (Japan Times)

Modern technology keeps evolving, spreading its tentacles and roping in all sectors, one by one. (newsonjapan.com)

A total of 26 players of the men's volleyball team at Nihon University have contracted the novel coronavirus but none are showing serious symptoms, sources close to the matter said Monday. (Kyodo)

NHK has learned that the organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are expecting to slash a total of more than 190 million dollars in costs for the Games. (NHK)

Next year's Tokyo Marathon will be rescheduled from March to the fall due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, sources said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

The Lotte Marines announced Tuesday a total 11 top-team players and staff have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, but the club's Pacific League game against the Orix Buffaloes went ahead as planned. (Japan Today)

The IOC and local organizers are trying to “simplify” the postponed Tokyo Olympics, promising to save money in what one study says is already the most expensive Summer Olympics on record. (Japan Today)

Over the past few years, there have been increased suggestions that Formula One could host a street race in Japan by 2025. Hirofumi Yoshimura – the current major of Osaka – has stated his desire for Yumeshima Island to host the country’s first-ever street-orientated Grand Prix. (newsonjapan.com)

As regulated gambling spreads across other parts of Asia, attention always returns to Japan. There have been strong laws controlling gambling here for years, and it seems like this is one area that lawmakers will not return to any time soon. Let's take a closer look at the current status of gambling here as it currently stands. (newsonjapan.com)

Nippon Professional Baseball and the J. League will explore the possibility of raising the current caps on attendance, a process that will include consultations with an epidemiologist, among others, the two leagues announced following the latest meeting of their joint COVID-19 task force on Monday. (Japan Times)