Officials from the Japan Sumo Association have decided that the spring tournament in Osaka starting on March 8 will be held without any spectators. They took the decision as part of efforts to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.
The members of the association's board meeting have been discussing two options, holding it without any spectators or completely canceling it.
The health emergency is affecting preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. Organizers have held a test event without athletes or spectators.
An expert says the coronavirus poses a significant risk to some physically challenged athletes.
Japan's professional soccer league, J.League, is postponing all official matches for the next three weeks in response to the spread of the new coronavirus.
J.League Chairman Mitsuru Murai announced at a news conference on Tuesday that all 94 matches scheduled until March 15 will be postponed. The matches include those for the top J1, J2 and J3 divisions.
With less than six months to go until the Tokyo Paralympic Games, NHK has learned many para-sports organizations are concerned about the lack of facilities available to para-athletes.
NHK conducted a survey of 26 domestic para-sports associations and received responses from all of them.
The Japan Sumo Association says it is considering what to do about next month's scheduled competition in light of the spread of the new coronavirus.
The second of the annual six regular championships is scheduled to begin at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium from March 8.
Families in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, have made bamboo lanterns in preparation to welcome the Olympic flame for the 2020 games.
The flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece, and transported on March 20 to Japan's Self Defense Force Matsushima base in Miyagi Prefecture.
The official uniforms that Japanese athletes will wear for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics have been unveiled.
Thirteen athletes introduced the uniforms at an event on Friday in Tokyo. They included female judoka Akira Sone and track and field Paralympian Atsushi Yamamoto.
Professional baseball started in Japan in 1920. The Greater Japan Tokyo Baseball Club was founded in 1934. It played a crucial role in the growth of the sport in the Asian country. Baseball teams from the U.S. like the New York Giants and Chicago White Sox have visited upcoming Japanese baseball teams over the years. Betway88 offers team lineups and schedules for Japanese baseball teams. The following are four top Japanese baseball players today. 
The organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics say that a welcome ceremony for the Olympic flame will feature a flyover by an acrobatic flight team of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
The organizers said on Thursday that the team of fighter jets, known as Blue Impulse, will fly in formation to draw five huge circles with colored smoke, representing the Olympic symbol, at the welcome ceremony on March 20.
Japan's Cabinet minister in charge of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics says the government will not call for the cancellation or downsizing of Games-related events despite the new coronavirus outbreak.
Seiko Hashimoto told reporters on Tuesday that the government's panel of experts has not urged restraint in organizing large-scale gatherings, and has allowed test events for the Olympics and Paralympics to go ahead as planned.
Participants in the torch relay for the Tokyo Olympic Games held a rehearsal on Saturday in the city of Hamura, western Tokyo.
The rehearsal was staged by Japan's Olympics organizing committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and sponsor companies.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has asked officials to take full measures to prevent terror attacks and the spread of infectious diseases to ensure the success of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
Abe told a meeting of a government task force on Friday that the host country should provide a safe environment for the Olympics.
Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Katsuya Nomura died in Tokyo on Tuesday. He was 84.
Nomura joined Nankai Hawks, a predecessor of Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, in 1954.
A group of Japanese researchers have discovered a new species of marine worm in the bay where Tokyo Olympic triathlon events are scheduled.
Researchers from the National Institute of Polar Research and Toho University said they discovered what they believe to be a new scavenger species of Ophryotrocha worm.