Japan
RAKUTEN WIN JAPANESE BASEBALL FRANCHISE
Japan's biggest online shopping mall operator, Rakuten Inc., has won a hotly contested battle for the country's first new baseball franchise in 50 years.
PORTUGAL TO HOST WORLD CUP OF GOLF
Next year's World Cup of Golf will be staged at the Victoria Clube de Golfe Course at Vilamoura in Portugal, the European Tour has announced.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
Editorial director Kevin Roberts reviews the issues of the past week
TV RIGHTS TENDER FOR EURO 2008
UEFA says the public invitation to tender for TV rights to soccer’s European Championship 2008 will begin from October 18.
GOVERNMENT REFUSE TO BACK BOKS BID
The South African government has refused to back a bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup, despite the International Rugby Board (IRB) announcing that the country had joined New Zealand and Japan as official bidders.
NEW ZEALAND AND SOUTH AFRICA ENTER WORLD CUP RACE
A pair of heavyweights are set to challenge Japan's hopes of hosting the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
JAPAN IN RUGBY WORLD CUP BID
Japan wants to stage the Rugby World Cup in 2011 according to the secretary of the Japanese RFU.
BASEBALL STRIKE REPRIEVE?
Japan's baseball players are likely to decide not to strike again with club representatives set to accept their demand to allow a new league team from next season.
SMS EXPAND ASIA OPERATION
Sports Marketing Surveys, the international sports market research company, has opened an office in Singapore.
BASEBALL STRIKE GOES AHEAD
Japanese baseball players staged the first strike in the history of the sport in Japan after extended negotiations with team officials failed to reach an agreement.
TOTAL SPORTS ASIA OPENS INDIA OFFICE
Total Sports Asia (TSA), a leading sports marketing company in Asia, has announced further expansion with the opening of a new office in Nariman Point, Mumbai.
SURVEY PUTS REAL’S FAN BASE CLOSE TO 500 MILLION
Real Madrid is the football club with the biggest potential global fan base according to a survey of 1,000 people in 13 countries carried out by Sport+Markt.
STRIKE REPRIEVE FOR BASEBALL
Japanese baseball players have won concessions from management related to a proposed club merger, staving off an historic strike.
KIKUCHI LANDS IMG POST
Koya Kikuchi has joined IMG as managing director of IMG Japan.
BASEBALL STRIKE A STEP CLOSER
The first players' strike in the history of Japanese baseball moved closer after the owners of Japan's 12 professional teams approved the merger between the Orix BlueWave and Kintetsu Buffaloes.
MERGER APPROVAL THREATENS BASEBALL STRIKE
A Japanese high court said a proposed merger between two pro baseball teams could proceed, rejecting an appeal by players for an injunction against the plan.
BASEBALL STRIKE LOOMING
The Japanese baseball players union will decide next week whether to call a strike over a planned merger of two professional teams.
Total Sports Asia expansion
A leading sports marketing agency in Asia, Total Sports Asia (TSA), has added to operations in Malaysia and Japan by establishing offices in India (Mumbai) and China (Shanghai).