Team Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata announced he will step down from his position after the World Baseball Classic. Japan was eliminated from the WBC on Saturday with an 8-5 loss to Venezuela in the tournament quarterfinals. Samurai Japan built a 5-2 lead after three innings, powered by home runs from Shohei Ohtani and Shota Morishita.

In Japan, small gestures matter. From how to hold your bowl to what to do with rubbish, our local expert explores Japanese social etiquette – and how travellers can follow with ease.

Any decision to dispatch Japanese military vessels to the Middle East to escort ships would face “high hurdles,” a senior official said, after President Donald Trump expressed hopes that Tokyo would join the US to keep the Strait of Hormuz “open and safe.

Japan plans to start releasing oil from its stockpiles on Monday to soften the shock from the U.-Israeli war on Iran, a ‌stark reminder of the oil crisis half a century ago that prompted Tokyo to create reserves.

SYDNEY (AP) — Toko Koga headed in two goals as Japan routed Philippines 7-0 on Sunday to advance to the Women’s Asian Cup semifinals and secure a spot in next year’s World Cup in Brazil. The 20-year-old Tottenham defender scored in first-half stoppage time and again in the 76th minute as Japan improved its tally to 24 goals and none conceded so far in the 2026 championship.

Whatever the case, Samurai Japan has a major decision to make between now and then: It has to figure out what it wants to be. Because the Japanese received a definitive verdict on the state of their game in their 8–5 loss to Venezuela in the quarterfinals of the WBC. What they’re doing isn’t working.

By Makiko Yamazaki and Takaya Yamaguchi TOKYO, March 13 (Reuters) - Japan likely has less scope to intervene in the currency market than it did in the past, even as the Middle East conflict pushes the yen back towards the key 160-per-dollar line once considered the trigger threshold for authorities to act.