SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.

RocketNews24 Japanese

Featured

Weird
Studio Ghibli
Jobs

sport (Page 2)

Naomi Osaka hits back at Japanese comedians’ “too sunburned” comment

SoraNews24
Oct 1, 2019
Tweet

Witty response proves Osaka isn’t just a tennis pro, she’s a marketing queen.

Japan
(A Masso • comedy • discrimination • Japanese comedy • marketing • Naomi Osaka • news • racism • Shiseido • sport • sportswomen • tennis)

Rugby World Cup 2019: Team Canada jumps off bus in yukata kimono…dressed like the dead

Oona McGee
Sep 27, 2019

Embarrassing fashion faux pas has these players dressed in the same way that Japanese people dress dead bodies.

Canada, Japan
(canada • cute • Fukuoka • funny • LOL • news • rugby • Rugby World Cup • RWC • sport • sports • twitter • videos • yukata)

Naomi Osaka called “too tanned” in Japanese comedy routine

Oona McGee
Sep 26, 2019

Comedians and management apologise for saying the tennis pro “needs bleach”.

Japan
(A Masso • comedy • discrimination • Japanese comedy • Naomi Osaka • news • racism • sport • sportswomen • tennis)

Rugby World Cup fans perform lineout on floor of a Japanese train

SoraNews24
Sep 24, 2019

People in Japan now concerned over what might happen on public transport during the Tokyo Olympics.

Japan
(france • Japanese trains • news • rugby • Rugby World Cup • RWC • sport • sports • trains)

Naomi Osaka slams reporters who ask her to speak in Japanese with new Nike commercial

Oona McGee
May 27, 2019

Osaka has just one word to say in response to all those annoying questions about her ethnicity and her love of katsudon.

Japan
(commercials • Japanese • Japanese commercials • katsudon • Naomi Osaka • Nike • sport • sportswomen • tennis • videos • YouTube)

Naomi Osaka shuts down reporter who asked her to speak in Japanese following Australian Open win

Oona McGee
Jan 28, 2019

People in Japan slam the reporter’s request and rush to the tennis pro’s defence.
Read More

Australia, Japan, USA
(Australian Open • hafu • half-Japanese • mixed race • Naomi Osaka • news • sport • sports • tennis)

Naomi Osaka stirs up debate about what it means to be Japanese following U.S. Open victory

Oona McGee
Sep 16, 2018

She’s the first Japanese citizen to ever win a Grand Slam singles tournament, but in Japan it’s her race that’s been taking the spotlight.

Japan
(culture • hafu • half-Japanese • identity • Naomi Osaka • race • sport • tennis • US Open • Women in Japan)

Japanese elementary school students smash Guinness World Record in team skipping

Oona McGee
Jun 26, 2017

Their amazing speed has them joining the ranks of other incredible record-holding skippers from Japan.

Japan
(cool • elementary school students • Guinness World Record • skipping • sport • sports • students)

Cute cats from Japan show their love for competitors at the Olympic games

Oona McGee
Aug 17, 2016

If you’re an athlete who runs from side to side or jumps up and down, these cute cats will love you, regardless of where you’re from!

Japan
(animals • athletes • cats • cute • cute pets • funny • gymnastics • LOL • olympic games • Olympics • pets • sport • sports)

Female high school students continue to be banned on baseball field at Koshien Stadium in Japan

Oona McGee
Aug 4, 2016

Baseball tournament officials defend the ban on female students as a necessary measure to help protect their safety.

Japan
(baseball • gender equality • gender issues • high school • high school baseball • Koshien • Koshien Stadium • news • sport)

Japanese baseball mascot kicks and punches another mascot lying defenceless on the ground【Video】

Corey Gold
Jul 19, 2016

Over the weekend, a fight broke out between two mascots who have a well-documented history of bad blood.

Japan
(baseball • fighting • Fukuoka Softbank Hawks mascot • funny • Japan • japanese character • mascot character • Mascots • sport • twitter)

Yokohama Baystars get a shojo manga makeover in a bid to wow female fans

Fran W
May 21, 2015

There’s only one thing better than a life-size replica of your favourite Japanese baseball player, and that’s a manga-style life-size replica.

A large-scale illustration of eight players from Yokohama DeNa Baystars goes on show this week in the run-up to a special festival for the Baystars’ female fans.

Japan
(baseball • fans • girls • sport • Yokohama DeNa Baystars)

Women at World Wushu Championships attack each other at the speed of light

Cara Clegg
Nov 25, 2014

Check out this insane performance at the World Wushu Championships. It might look like one woman is summarily beating the other to a pulp, but it’s actually all part of an intricately choreographed martial arts performance that blends dance and fighting into a beautiful and fantastic spectacle.

China
(fighting • martial arts • sport • Wushu)

Taiwan Rugby Union’s naked calendar: Because men have butts too【Photos】

Fran W
Nov 14, 2014

As the internet implodes with the news that Kim Kardashian’s naked posterior is on the front of Paper magazine, we thought we’d jump right on the nudity bandwagon and bring you this exciting missive from the clothes-free front line.

That’s right, Taiwan’s rugby union players are releasing a naked calendar, and we’ve got the pics to prove it!

Taiwan
(calendar • Chinese Taipei • photos • sport • Taiwan rugby)

Aerial athletes compete in the 2014 Wingsuit World Flying Contest in China

Krista Rogers
Nov 12, 2014

Introducing wingsuit flying, perhaps the most daring, adrenaline-inducing extreme sport ever to be performed on this planet.

“Wait, that kind of thing actually exists? Where can I join in the fun?” is what some of our more adventurous readers may be thinking right now. Well, we can confidently say that the sport exists – and already has quite the following, for that matter – though we’re not so sure about the fun part. Either way, you may want to check out just how crazy the competition is before you sign up for next year’s world event…

China, Global
(dangerous • flying • sport • stunt • wingsuit • Zhangjiajie)

Chinese table tennis champ stripped of $45k prize after emotional outburst【Video】

Fran W
Oct 30, 2014

A table tennis champion has been stripped of his $45,000 prize money for kicking an ad hoarding in an over-excited celebration.

Chinese player Zhang Jike fly-kicked two hoardings after beating Ma Long in the final of the Liebherr Men’s World Cup in Düsseldorf. Now, the International Table Tennis Federation has decided to withhold his prize money in light of his actions.

China
(China • funny • sport • table tennis • video)

Being punched in the face by Ichiro is the best moment of this girl’s life【Video】

Cara Clegg
Aug 15, 2014

On August 6 baseball magazine Baseball America chose Ichiro Suzuki as their number one on a list of the ‘Top 10 Most Prodigious Best Tools Winners Of The Millennium’, beating out greats such as Pujols and Verlander.

Of course he’s a legend in his home country of Japan, but during his many years in the major league he’s also gained plenty of American fans. To celebrate his win, we want to share this video of a ‘super happy Ichiro fan’, with ‘super happy’ being somewhat of an understatement.

Japan, USA
(baseball • Ichiro • sport)

Table tennis greats serve up incredible 41-shot rally at Commonwealth Games

Cara Clegg
Aug 12, 2014

The 2014 Commonwealth Games were held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 3 with 71 nations competing in 18 different sports, table tennis among them. If you’ve never watched table tennis before, then you might be forgiven for thinking that it’s not particularly exciting. Think again.

Africa, Europe, SE Asia
(Commonwealth Games • Nigeria • ping-pong • Singapore • sport • table tennis)

Heatstroke countermeasures already being prepped for 2020 Olympics

Japan Today
Aug 9, 2014

As Japan continues to bake in soaring temperatures, Tokyo 2020 Olympic and government officials have begun discussing measures to avert heatstroke cases during the Olympics which will run for two weeks from July 25, 2020.

Japan
(heat • Japan Today • news • sport • summer • Tokyo Olympics)

The Winter Olympics would have been far more fun with Mario Kart power-ups 【Video】

Philip Kendall
Feb 28, 2014

Despite having a number of genuinely exciting events, the Winter Olympics is also home to a couple of head-scratchers (I watched the men’s slalom with the Wikipedia entry open trying to work out why some skiers were incurring penalties), and some can get kind of repetitive if watched for more than a few minutes at a time. One event I did enjoy watching, though, was the speed skating; those dudes zip around that track–with blades on their feet–at speeds that would probably make me vomit.

But imagine how much more exciting that event would be if participants had access to the full arsenal of weapon items from Nintendo’s Mario Kart racing games? As this hilarious video shows, with some green shells, a handful of banana skins, and the occasional competitor-shrinking lightning bolt, this event could be so much more interesting.