Japan

Tokyo's bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games now has more than 8.5 million supporters in the Japanese capital according to latest figures.

The Tokyo Marathon has become the sixth addition to the elite World Marathon Majors (WMM) and the group’s first member outside Europe and the United States, with the 2012 New York Marathon cancelled in the wake of megastorm Sandy.

The Japan Sport Council has announced that 11 proposals will enter the final bidding round for the contract to redevelop the Kasumigaoka National Stadium in preparation for the country’s staging of the 2019 Rugby World Cup and role as part of Tokyo’s bid for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Japan's bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games was given a lift by the release of the FutureBrand’s Country Brand Index 2012-2013 in which the country ranked ahead of 2020 bidding rivals Spain and Turkey.

Tokyo 2020 has moved to play down the impact that Shintaro Ishihara’s surprise resignation as Governor of Tokyo will have on the city’s bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Manchester United has sealed its second commercial partnership this week after agreeing a three-year deal with Japan-based soft drinks manufacturer Kagome.

Motegi will continue as the home of MotoGP in Japan until at least 2018 after the commercial rights holder of the motorcycling series, Dorna Sports, agreed a new contract with the Honda-owned circuit.

A new circuit in South Korea has been named as one of six destinations in four countries that will feature in the inaugural Asian Le Mans Series calendar in 2013, the promoters of the motor-racing series have announced.

Tokyo 2020 has announced the addition of Mizuno as its fifth official partner for its bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The team behind Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games revealed at a press conference in London on Saturday that its proposed Olympic Stadium would have a retractable roof.

The Japan Sport Council has launched an international design competition for the redevelopment of the Kasumigaoka National Stadium in preparation for the country’s staging of the 2019 Rugby World Cup and its key role at the centre of Tokyo’s bid for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Research conducted by the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee suggests securing the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games would create more than 150,000 jobs and would generate US$37.9 billion of economic activity across Japan.

Tokyo 2020 president Tsunekazu Takeda has stated that the city’s bid for the 2020 Olympic Games represents the most realistic chance to land the event for a number of years, as the bid committee unveiled its first four official partners.

Japan’s J.League has extended its partnership with global media rights holder World Sport Group (WSG) as it seeks to cement its position as Asia’s leading domestic competition.

Tokyo’s bid for the 2020 Olympic Games has secured key political backing in the shape of bipartisan support from Diet Members, led by Japan’s former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded the Japanese broadcast rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games to a national consortium, in a deal worth a reported US$472 million.