The Japan Times: Sports https://www.japantimes.co.jp/ Latests sports news and features from Japan's more widely read English-language newspaper Newspaper en-US hourly 1 Sun, 14 Jun 2026 14:55:17 +0900 Sun, 14 Jun 2026 14:55:17 +0900 webmaster@japantimes.co.jp (Web Master) <![CDATA[ Knicks defeat Spurs to snap 53-year NBA title drought ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/14/basketball/nba/knicks-beat-spurs-nba-title-53-years/ BASKETBALL Sun, 14 Jun 2026 12:40:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642665/ <![CDATA[ Japan coach takes responsibility for Wataru Endo going home ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/14/soccer/world-cup/japan-coach-wataru-endo/ SOCCER Sun, 14 Jun 2026 10:23:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642667/ <![CDATA[ Netherlands using pressure to drive bid for elusive World Cup triumph ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/14/soccer/world-cup/netherlands-pressure-world-cup/ SOCCER Sun, 14 Jun 2026 10:23:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642662/ <![CDATA[ Japan aiming to live up to heightened expectations with deep run at World Cup ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/12/soccer/world-cup/japan-2026-world-cup/ SOCCER Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:28:00 +0900 Sean Carroll https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642630/ <![CDATA[ South Korea rallies past Czech Republic to open World Cup campaign ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/12/soccer/world-cup/south-korea-opens-campaign/ SOCCER Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:17:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642624/ <![CDATA[ Jordan Staal, Hurricanes take Game 5, close in on Stanley Cup title ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/12/more-sports/hurricanes-brink-stanley-cup/ MORE SPORTS Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:04:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642622/ <![CDATA[ Iran’s World Cup team finds support from fans in Mexico ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/12/soccer/world-cup/iran-mexico-supporters-world-cup/ SOCCER Fri, 12 Jun 2026 12:47:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642621/ <![CDATA[ Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani leaves game early due to left knee inflammation ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/12/baseball/mlb/ohtani-leaves-game-knee-inflammation/ BASEBALL Fri, 12 Jun 2026 11:15:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642615/ <![CDATA[ Mexico beats South Africa to kick off 2026 World Cup ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/12/soccer/world-cup/mexico-wins-world-cup-opener/ SOCCER Fri, 12 Jun 2026 09:40:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642607/ <![CDATA[ Japan captain Wataru Endo pulls out of World Cup due to injury and retires from national team ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/12/soccer/world-cup/endo-out-of-world-cup/ SOCCER Fri, 12 Jun 2026 05:29:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642604/ <![CDATA[ LA 2028 working to avoid repeat of World Cup visa issues ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/olympics/2026/06/11/ioc-world-cup-visa-issues/ OLYMPICS Thu, 11 Jun 2026 16:05:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642582/ <![CDATA[ Knicks move within one win of title after biggest comeback in NBA Finals history ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/11/basketball/knicks-win-game-four-finals/ BASKETBALL Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:46:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642571/ <![CDATA[ Teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli heads to Spain seeking sixth straight win ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/11/more-sports/antonelli-barcelona-grand-prix/ MORE SPORTS Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:43:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642585/ <![CDATA[ Injured Takumi Minamino takes on role of mentor for Japan at World Cup ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/11/soccer/world-cup/minamino-japan-support-role/ SOCCER Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:41:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642548/ <![CDATA[ Gianni Infantino defends FIFA over visa issues in U.S. ahead of World Cup ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/11/soccer/world-cup/gianni-infantino-fifa-us-visa-issues/ SOCCER Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:36:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642546/ <![CDATA[ Kyrgios ‘thrilled to be back’ after first singles win in 15 months ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/10/tennis/nick-kyrgios-return-win/ TENNIS Wed, 10 Jun 2026 16:58:00 +0900 Nick Mulvenney https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642535/ <![CDATA[ Behind Jordan Staal’s 2 goals, Hurricanes level Stanley Cup Final 2-2 ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/10/more-sports/stanley-cup-final-game-4/ MORE SPORTS Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:08:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642533/ <![CDATA[ Could Hoshoryu be the last Mongolian <i>yokozuna</i>? ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/10/sumo/mongolian-sumo-dominance/ SUMO Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:55:00 +0900 John Gunning https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642525/ <![CDATA[ Serena still mulling Wimbledon return after comeback win ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/10/tennis/serena-williams-return-win/ TENNIS Wed, 10 Jun 2026 13:11:00 +0900 Martyn Herman https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642520/ <![CDATA[ Tuchel says England not World Cup favorites but can dare to dream ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/10/soccer/world-cup/tuchel-england-world-cup/ SOCCER Wed, 10 Jun 2026 11:46:00 +0900 Nick Mulvenney https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642516/ <![CDATA[ Knicks fall to Spurs in first home Finals game in a generation ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/09/basketball/nba/knicks-game-3-home/ BASKETBALL Tue, 09 Jun 2026 14:25:00 +0900 Josh Wingrove,Jennifer A. Dlouhy,Kaitlyn Pohly https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642473/ <![CDATA[ World Cup nears kickoff after pre-tournament turbulence ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/09/soccer/world-cup/2026-world-cup-preview/ SOCCER Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:23:00 +0900 Rob Woollard https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642458/ <![CDATA[ Somali soccer referee will miss World Cup after U.S. denies entry ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/09/soccer/world-cup/somali-referee-us-entry-denied/ SOCCER Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:15:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642454/ <![CDATA[ U.S. players ready to seize ‘once in a career’ World Cup chance ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/09/soccer/world-cup/usmnt-world-cup-chance/ SOCCER Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:06:00 +0900 Matt Silverstein https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642453/ <![CDATA[ Japan launches heightened safety campaign for citizens traveling to World Cup ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/09/soccer/world-cup/fifa-foreign-ministry-safety/ SOCCER Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:05:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642451/ <![CDATA[ Ticketholders boo Trump as NBA Finals security clogs Madison Square Garden ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/09/basketball/nba/trump-knicks-nba-finals/ BASKETBALL Tue, 09 Jun 2026 10:57:00 +0900 Amy Tennery,Bo Erickson https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642452/ <![CDATA[ Denmark’s Christian Eriksen collapses again during international match ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/08/soccer/christian-eriksen-collapses-during-match/ SOCCER Mon, 08 Jun 2026 14:27:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642424/ <![CDATA[ England’s World Cup opener is set to cause power spike ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/08/soccer/world-cup/england-world-cup-power-spike/ SOCCER Mon, 08 Jun 2026 11:12:00 +0900 Eamon Akil Farhat https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642414/ <![CDATA[ Kimi Antonelli stays cool under fire to win chaotic Monaco Grand Prix ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/08/more-sports/kimi-antonelli-monaco-grand-prix-win/ MORE SPORTS Mon, 08 Jun 2026 11:08:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642412/ <![CDATA[ Chance to play in front of children behind Serena Williams’ return to tennis ]]> https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/06/08/tennis/serena-return-reason-children/ TENNIS Mon, 08 Jun 2026 10:35:00 +0900 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/article/642409/