All national dailies reported that the Sapporo municipal government has decided not to seek to host the 2030 Winter Olympic Games in view of rising opposition among local citizens as evidenced by the recent launch of a campaign to collect signatures demanding the city to organize a referendum on whether it should host the international sporting event. The municipal officials decided….Read more

After vowing to recover from previous scandals, Nihon University is now dealing with a drug case involving one of its students. In addition to cooperating with the police investigation, the university should examine whether sufficient progress has been made in its organizational management and reforms aimed at enhancing awareness.   The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a third-year member of….Read more

NHK reported that a PR event scheduled to be held this weekend in Nagoya to promote the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, was called off because the Chinese organizer for unspecified reasons decided against sending a delegation. Aichi Governor Omura said the cancellation could be attributable to Beijing’s strong reaction to the G7 Hiroshima Summit.

By KAZUAKI ISODA, Staff Writer   Nearly 50 percent of voters in Sapporo do not want the city to host the 2030 Winter Games, a key issue in the mayoral election scheduled for April 9, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed.   In the survey conducted on April 1 and 2, 56 percent of respondents in the Hokkaido capital said they….Read more

Sankei highlighted the disclosure by several GOJ sources that Prime Minister Kishida plans to throw the ceremonial first pitch in a World Baseball Classic game between Japan and South Korea to be played at Tokyo Dome on March 10.

On Jan. 7, Nihon Yoron Chosakai released the findings of its nationwide mail-in poll on the Olympic and Paralympic Games. A total of 57% of respondents said they are either “in favor” or “somewhat in favor” of inviting the 2030 Winter Games to Sapporo, a drop of 8 percentage points from the previous poll taken in November-December 2021. A total….Read more