Tokyo (AFP) – Yoshimi Yamashita became Japan's first woman professional football referee on Monday and said she was happy to "make a splash" as she prepares to create history at the World Cup. Yamashita, 36, was named in May alongside France's Stephanie Frappart and Rwanda's Salima Mukansanga as officials for Qatar later this year — […]

Kobe (Japan) (AFP) – Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu hailed his World Cup-bound team's strength in depth after ringing the changes in a 4-1 thrashing of Ghana on Friday. Moriyasu made nine changes from the starting line-up that held Brazil scoreless for 77 minutes in Tokyo earlier in the week before finally succumbing to a Neymar […]

Tokyo (AFP) – As global interest in women's football approaches fever pitch, former champions Japan are eyeing a return to glory with the country's first professional league for female players. A decade since winning the 2011 Women's World Cup, Japan has fallen behind, even as the sport becomes more popular and lucrative elsewhere. But the […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Japanese Women's World Cup star Kumi Yokoyama has come out as a transgender man — one of the few athletes to do so in a country where LGBTQ rights lag behind other developed nations. Yokoyama, who represented Japan at the 2019 Women's World Cup and currently plays for National Women's Soccer League […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Japan coach Vahid Halilhodzic said his players were too respectful and urged them to be "more vicious" after a stuttering World Cup qualifying campaign which has plunged his future into doubt. The straight-talking Franco-Bosnian said the Blue Samurai, who are facing a fight to reach a sixth straight World Cup in Russia […]

Bangkok (AFP) – Takuma Asano bounced back from last week's disallowed goal controversy as he hit Japan's second in a 2-0 win over Thailand which reignited their World Cup qualifying bid on Tuesday. Asano was denied a clear goal in Thursday's 2-1 defeat to UAE when officials failed to see his shot had crossed the […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Japan have lodged a formal protest over a controversially disallowed goal which consigned them to a 2-1 World Cup qualifying defeat to UAE, an official said on Friday. TV replays showed Takuma Asano's shot crossed the line in mid-air before being clawed away by goalkeeper Khalid Eisa, but the goal was missed […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Twinkle-toed former Japan striker Kazuyoshi Miura proved he has no plans to shuffle off into the sunset after the 49-year-old rewrote his own record as the J-League's oldest goalscorer. "King Kazu", who is playing in his 31st season as a professional, scored with a rare header for Yokohama FC on Sunday in […]

Japan's Olympic soccer teams will train for the Tokyo 2020 Games at a complex currently being used as a base for thousands of workers cleaning up the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. The Japan Football Association (JFA) said Monday that the Japanese men's and women's teams would hold their training camps at J-Village, once the country's […]

Japan's J-League has decided that it's going to switch to a two-stage season in a bid to boost fans and revenue. The two-stage season, similar to the apertura and clausura for many Latin soccer leagues, the Mexican league and the NASL, will begin in 2015. The change has been forecast to boost revenue by $10million. […]