Japan

Tour de France organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) has announced the Saitama Criterium by Le Tour de France cycling event will return to the Japanese city for a second time later this year.

Tokyo 2020 has bolstered its organising committee for the city’s staging of the summer Olympic Games, addressing criticism of its existing ageing and male-orientated make-up by adding 28 new members.

The Japanese Basketball Association (JBA) has announced it is to launch a new men’s professional basketball league in 2016.

International Rugby Board (IRB) chief executive Brett Gosper has called for greater promotion of rugby union in Japan as the country prepares to host the 2019 World Cup.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has announced that Chinese Taipei will host the inaugural U21 Baseball World Cup later this year.

Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori said the Japanese capital’s organising committee for the Olympic Games is seeking to introduce female members as he welcomed the election of Yoichi Masuzoe as the city’s new governor.

The Tokyo Organising Committee of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games was formally established today (Friday), with former Prime Minister of Japan Yoshiro Mori confirmed as the head of the organisation.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has agreed to become the head of the local organising committee for the Tokyo 2020 summer Olympic Games, according to the Kyodo news agency.

The Japanese government and Tokyo authorities are in final talks with a view to appointing former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori as head of the city’s local organising committee for the 2020 Olympic Games, according to Kyodo News.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) has established a new bureau dedicated to preparations for the delivery of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games ahead of the formation of the local organising committee, which is due to be unveiled by the end of February.

The Japanese Football Association (JFA) has announced it will refocus on bidding for the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup after initially targeting the 2019 event, according to the Kyodo News agency.

Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe has insisted that the resignation of Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose will have no impact on the city’s preparations for the 2020 Olympic Games.

The Japan Sport Council (JSC) has agreed to scale back the floor space of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Stadium by a quarter to 220,000 square metres.

Newly-elected International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has revealed that softball and baseball still have a chance of being included on the Olympic programme at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

The project director for the $3 billion Tokyo 2020 Olympic Stadium has warned critics of the danger of downscaling the venue to reduce costs.

Super Aguri has become the sixth team to enter the new FIA (International Motor Sport Federation) Formula E Championship.