News On Japan

Japan's Oda Tokito makes wheelchair tennis history

Jun 12, 2023 (NHK) - Seventeen-year-old Japanese tennis player Oda Tokito has won the French Open men's wheelchair singles title, becoming the youngest winner of a Grand Slam tournament in the category.

Oda faced the world number-one-ranked Alfie Hewett of Britain in the men's final on Saturday. Oda beat Hewett 6-1, 6-4.

At the age of 17 years and one month, Oda is the youngest winner of a men's Grand Slam title since the competitions opened to professional players in 1968.

Currently ranked number two in the world, he will be placed at the top of the ranking following his victory, making him the youngest-ever men's wheelchair world No.1. ...continue reading

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Typhoon No. 6 was located about 40 kilometers south-southwest of Irozaki on the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture at noon on June 3rd and was moving east-northeast at 40 kilometers per hour as it made its closest approach to the Kanto region, bringing heavy rain, rough seas and a growing risk of strong northerly gusts even as the peak of rainfall began to pass in parts of the Tokyo metropolitan area.

[updated 1:00 p.m.] Typhoon No. 6 is disrupting Japan's transport network on June 3rd, with JR East suspending some lines until the afternoon or for the full day, highway bus services canceled across major expressway routes, expressway operators warning of closures and speed restrictions, and airlines canceling more than 700 domestic flights, mainly on routes to and from Haneda Airport, as heavy rain from the storm spreads along the Pacific side of western and eastern Japan.

Flooding was reported around the popular tourist district of Oharai-machi in Ise City following the passage of Typhoon No. 6, with some businesses forced to clean up after floodwaters overflowed from a nearby river during the early hours of June 3rd.

A breaking weather alert was issued for the Izu region of Shizuoka Prefecture early Wednesday morning, after the formation of a linear rain band, a phenomenon capable of producing prolonged and extremely intense rainfall over the same area. Authorities warned that the risk of disasters has risen sharply as heavy rain continues to fall, increasing the likelihood of flooding, landslides, and other weather-related emergencies.

[updated 03:30 a.m.] Authorities issued a Level 5 Flood Occurrence Information alert for the Kuwano River and the Naka River tributary in Tokushima Prefecture, warning that flooding may already be underway and urging residents to take immediate action to protect their lives.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Sports NEWS

The annual Gatalympics festival was held on the mudflats of the Ariake Sea in Kashima City, Saga Prefecture, drawing about 1,400 participants from 13 countries and regions who battled through a series of unique mud-based events while becoming thoroughly covered in mud.

A pair of sisters from Aichi Prefecture are closing in on a dream they have pursued for nearly a decade, with Ren Matsumoto and Non Matsumoto aiming to secure a place at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after rising to the top of Japan's beach volleyball rankings through years of family sacrifice and determination.

Volleyball player Shunichiro Sato, a member of Japan’s men’s national team, was arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of possessing marijuana after allegedly leaving a bag containing the drug at a pachinko parlor in Tokyo.

Yomiuri Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe resigned on May 26th after being arrested on suspicion of assaulting his eldest daughter at the family’s home in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, a scandal that has sent shockwaves through Japanese professional baseball just before the start of interleague play.

Japan's national soccer team began a domestic training camp in Chiba on May 25th ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, with 13 players including 39-year-old Yuto Nagatomo of FC Tokyo and Daichi Kamada of Eintracht Frankfurt taking part in the opening session.

Wakatakakage completed a remarkable comeback from major knee surgery and a fall to the lower divisions by winning his second top-division championship at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on May 24th, ending a 25-tournament wait for another Emperor's Cup.

An amateur sumo tournament was held on the streets of New York, highlighting how Japan’s national sport is gaining new popularity in the United States while evolving in distinctly American ways.

Under blazing sunshine along the clear waters of the Nagara River, competitors faced off in a serious test of stone skipping skill on May 17th in Gifu City, where temperatures climbed to 31.2 degrees Celsius, marking the city’s first midsummer day of the year.