Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has indicated that he will consider allowing foreign athletes into the country from March, in response to a request from the governing bodies of professional baseball and soccer.

Kishida expressed the intention at a meeting with Nippon Professional Baseball Commissioner Saito Atsushi and J.League Chairman Murai Mitsuru on Wednesday.

Kobayashi Ryoyu has won Japan's first gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. He took first place in the men's normal hill individual ski jumping.

Japanese snowboarder Hirano Ayumu has won gold in the men's halfpipe at the Beijing Winter Olympics. The 23-year-old took silver at the previous two Games.

Hirano landed what's called a "triple cork 1440" on all three of his runs. The trick consists of three head-over-heels flips while spinning sideways four times. Hirano became the first athlete to achieve it in competition last December.

US superstar Nathan Chen has won the Olympic gold in men's figure skating. Japanese skaters made up the rest of the podium but two-time defending champion Hanyu Yuzuru missed out on a medal with a fourth-place finish.

The 22-year-old Chen completed a nearly perfect free program routine, successfully landing five quadruple jumps. His total score of 332.60 put him over 20 points clear at the top.

The governing body of professional sumo says a total of 252 wrestlers and officials have been confirmed infected with the coronavirus since the grand tournament ended in late January.

The Japan Sumo Association conducted PCR tests on all its members by Tuesday. It says nine wrestlers in the top or second-highest divisions, including Ozeki Champion Shodai, and 11 stable masters tested positive.

At the Beijing Winter Games, the gold in ski jumping's mixed team event went to Slovenia, but there was controversy after five jumpers were disqualified, including favorites Germany.

Claimed breaches of complex rules that link suits and skis to bodyweight in an effort to remove any advantage also took out Japan, Austria and two Norwegian jumpers.

At the Beijing Winter Games, figure skaters from the Russian Olympic Committee have won gold in the team competition, with the United States in second place. Japan finished third to pocket its first-ever medal in the event.

The Russian skaters closed out the win by a wide margin over the United States. Kamila Valieva put the icing on the cake in the last section of the event, the women's single free skate. The 15-year-old had already dominated Sunday's short program.

In the Beijing Olympics, Kobayashi Ryoyu has won Japan's first gold medal. He took first place in the men's normal hill individual.

The gold medal favorite jumped 104.5 meters at his first attempt.

NHK has learned that Japanese alpine skier Muraoka Momoka will lead the country's para athletes at the coming Beijing Winter Games.

Sources also told NHK that rising cross-country skier Kawayoke Taiki will be Japan's flag bearer.

The head of Team Japan for the Beijing Winter Olympics has expressed high hope that everyone on the team will strive to deliver the best performance they possibly can.

Japan is sending 124 athletes to the 17-day Games, which starts on Friday. That is a record high for the Winter Olympics held overseas. Japan aims to win more medals than the 13 it won in the 2018 PyeongChang Games.

Japan's Beijing Olympic team says an athlete due to compete in a skiing event has tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in the Chinese capital.

The athlete tested negative prior to departure from Japan, but was found positive after a PCR test was administered upon arrival in Beijing on Tuesday.

The Japanese Olympic team has arrived in Beijing.

Eighty-three athletes and officials arrived in Beijing on Sunday. The total number of Japanese athletes will reach 124, more than any other winter Games outside of Japan.

Mitakeumi beat Yokozuna Grand Champion Terunofuji to win the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday.

Mitakeumi, who holds the third-highest rank of Sekiwake, was in the lead with two losses when he entered the final day of the 15-day tourney. He was followed by Terunofuji, Abi and Kotonowaka with three losses.

A former player for Japan's national men's rugby team who was born in Tonga is anxiously waiting to hear about the safety of his relatives.

Latu Sinali came to Japan 37 years ago and was selected to represent the national team. He acquired Japanese nationality and lives near Tokyo.