Young golf star Ryo Ishikawa marked the New Year by turning professional last week, thereby becoming Japan’s youngest ever pro.
Still only 16, Ishikawa set off for Australia today to make his professional debut in a tournament that would see him qualify for this summer’s Open Championship (British Open) if he secured a top four finish […]

Fourteen year old Mirai Nagasu has won the senior Ladies Free Skate at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Paul. She was the leader after her short program.
And despite an early fall in her long program, went on to capture the gold.

Congratulations to Mirai Nagasu!

Sumo fans will remember 2007 as something of a low point. Record low numbers of recruits, diminishing media coverage of actually wrestling, and instead of scandal after scandal - first the death of a young rikishi attributed to a brutal training regime, and then the rather strangely larger row that blew up when Asashoryu […]

There’s a new queen of the ice and her name is Mirai Nagasu. Both her parents are Japanese, but Nagasu herself was born in the US and holds American citizenship; she has always skated for the US. Her parents are dedicated to her success, and the hard work seems to be paying off.

This clip is […]

Have you ever noticed that when two groups occupy a similar space, rivalries emerge? Whether you’re talking about Mac vs PC, Coke vs Pepsi, or the national rugby teams of Australia and New Zealand, each party will try as hard as they can to win against their hated rivals.
The top two private universities in […]

Mr. Pink writes in to tip us to a story about the All-Japan Bodybuilding Tournament held in Tokyo last year.
The following video is of Aki Nishimoto, a 41-year-old Tokyoite, who took the title of Miss Japan.

It’s been reported that Japan football team manager, 66-year-old Bosnian Ivica Osim suffered a stroke early on Friday morning while watching televised soccer at home and was taken to hospital in Urayasu, Chiba prefecture.
Outspoken Mr Osim, who famously was so angry after a game at this year’s Asian Cup, that in getting his message across […]

Japan’s favorite female butt kicker and Fukuoka native Ryoko “Tawara-chan” Tani (née Tamura), has been awarded a “Gold Medal of Honor for Child Rearing” from the Fukuoka prefectural government.
This new award is on top of the Fukuoka Prefecture Medal of Honor and Fukuoka Prefecture Sports Medal of Honor that Tani had been awarded to date […]

A baseball batting centre in Kitakyushu has unveiled a pitching machine it calls the Super Monster.
At the Mihagino Batting Center, until November 4, you can try to lay bat on a pitch coming at you at a staggering 200km/h (or 125mph).
[A spokesman for the centre] says the Super Monster Machine is the fastest artificial pitching […]

“I accept the punishment given to me. Both Daiki and I apologize deeply for our wrongdoings. Considering we should be taking a gradual approach here, don’t you think a 1 year suspension is too harsh? For an 18-year-old growing boxer like Daiki, a year is a really long time.”
Shiro Kameda, head of the Kameda Family […]

News reported this morning that the Japan Boxing Commission has banned Daiki Kameda for one year for “repeated unsportsmanlike conduct”, and hit Shiro Kameda, father and trainer of the Kameda family, with an indefinite ringside ban and training licence suspension.
For Kameda’s display in his defeat to Daisuke Naito in the WBC flyweight championship bout the […]

“I beat one of the Kamedas so I’m sure Japan will thank me for it.”
Daisuke Naito on his defeat of Daiki Kameda in a WBC flyweight title bout Thursday.

Justice reigns in the world of sports and the good guy won as Daiki Kameda, Number Two Son of the obnoxious Kameda boxing family was soundly defeated by WBC Flyweight World Champion Daisuke Naito in a title match a few hours ago.
Naito fought like a real champion, and the result of the match should […]

Though I like to play golf. I don’t envision myself getting one of these anytime soon. . .

Via Hello Kitty Hell

With just two races left in the Formula 1 season, British driver Lewis Hamilton, in his first year, edged closer to what would be a historic championship win by claiming victory in yesterday’s Japanese Grand Prix at the Fuji circuit.
No driver in Formula 1 history has won the championship in his rookie year, but with […]

The Japan team performing in the rope section of the Group All-Around final competition at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Patra, Greece.

Caught an excellent letter to the editor a reader named Robbie A. Cabrera in The Daily Yomiuri this morning (no net link available at the time of this writing) that perfectly expresses many of the same feelings I have about Japanese athletes who participate in international sports competitions. Titled “Japanese athletes need to learn the […]

Twice-Olympic-champion Judo wrestler, the ever popular Ryoko Tani, took a record seventh world gold by beating Cuba’s Yanet Bermoy in the under 48kg class. She’s been out of the game for the best part of three years, having taken time out to have a child.
She wasn’t the only gold medallist -

Japan won another gold […]

Word is that England’s women’s soccer team is all fired up for an upcoming World Cup Group A qualifier with a Japan in Hong Kong because of “disparaging comments” apparently made by the Japanese side.
Although Japan’s coach Hiroshi Ohashi has described some of England’s stars as talented and dangerous, Japanese players including star midfielder […]

Boston Red Sox Japanese player Daisuke Matsuzaka (14-12) found out that life ain’t all peanuts and Cracker Jack in the Big Leagues when he was shelled mercilessly by the Balitmore Orioles in a recent game.
The $103 million Matsuzaka lasted only 2-2/3 innings during which he gave up eight runs on six hits and gave […]