August 02, 2012
LONDON--Four years after letting the title slip through his fingers, Japan's Kohei Uchimura finally won the Olympic gold medal he dreamed of to go with his three world crowns in the individual all-around gymnastics final on Aug.1.
August 02, 2012
When the Japan Table Tennis Association wanted to recreate the formidable Chinese "Chiquita" spin serve, it threw a curveball of its own at a baseball pitching machine manufacturer.
August 02, 2012
This is the 11th installment of professional golfer Ryo Ishikawa's column for The Asahi Shimbun, which appears every other Thursday.
August 01, 2012
A javelin thrower, a rhythmic gymnast and a weightlifter would seem to have little in common other than their desire to perform well at the ongoing London Olympics. But a closer look reveals that all three have roots that stretch across the globe, from Japan to Britain and back.
July 31, 2012
The instant judoka Kaori Matsumoto realized she had just become Japan's first gold medalist at the London Olympics, her fierce game face dissolved as she tried to hold back the tears as she buried her head into the chest of her head coach.
July 31, 2012
LONDON -- Japanese judo fans can relax: After three days of competition, the country that invented the sport finally won a gold medal at the London Olympics, thanks to Kaori Matsumoto.
July 31, 2012
LONDON -- China's gymnasts stormed to the men's team gold at the Olympics on July 30 while Japan lodged a last-gasp appeal to walk away with silver ahead of Britain on a dramatic evening at the North Greenwich Arena.
July 30, 2012
This is the seventh installment of London-based writer Brian Mallon's column on the Ultimate Fighting Championship for The Asahi Shimbun. Mallon has been a martial arts practitioner, UFC fan and journalist for many years. The biweekly feature appears every other Monday.
July 30, 2012
LONDON--Japanese Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima on July 29 failed in his bid to win a third breaststroke double, coming fifth in a 100 meters race that broke a world record and saw U.S. arch-rival Brendan Hansen mark his own comeback by squeezing onto the podium.
July 30, 2012
LONDON--North Korea earned its first gold medal of the London Olympics on the judo mat on July 29. Japan is still waiting for its first of the games in a sport it invented.
July 29, 2012
LONDON--Japanese judoka Misato Nakamura is hoping to improve on her bronze medal from the Beijing Games when the competition for her lightweight women's division gets under way on July 29.
July 28, 2012
Four-time gold medalist Kosuke Kitajima says he feels calm heading into his fourth Olympic Games, and he looked in peak condition at a public training session at the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences in Tokyo’s Kita Ward earlier this month.
July 28, 2012
LONDON--Seven teenagers lit the Olympic cauldron on July 27, at an opening ceremony starring the queen and seen by millions around the world, in a touching finale to a high-octane, musical celebration of British history and culture.
July 27, 2012
GLASGOW, Scotland--Japan produced a major shock in men's Olympic football on July 26, beating medal favorites Spain 1-0.
July 27, 2012
Last year, the enactment of the sports fundamental law increased the central government's role in promoting Japanese sports and means that Japanese Olympians for the upcoming London Summer Olympics will receive state-funded support.
July 26, 2012
LONDON--While China tussles for top spot in the Olympic medal standings with the United States, the race to be best of the rest in Asia will come down to another battle between bitter rivals South Korea and Japan at the London Games.
July 26, 2012
When Japan's national judo and wrestling teams were training together at a joint camp, the wrestlers were quickly and easily tackling the judoka from behind and taking them to the mat.
July 25, 2012
In international table tennis, the Chinese players' secret weapon is their formidable Chiquita spin, a sideways curve that has helped them dominate international competition.
July 25, 2012
HONG KONG--A Hong Kong-based labor rights group slammed London Olympics organizers on July 24 for failing to prevent "rampant" abuses at two China suppliers of Games merchandise.
July 24, 2012
What do Olympian hammer thrower Koji Murofushi, tennis player Maria Sharapova and table tennis player Ai Fukuhara have in common?