Issue:

January 2026 | Cover story 3

The baseball star is among a host of Japanese athletes with a chance to shine in 2026

Artwork by Julio Shiiki

It will be hard for 2026 to come up with a sporting event as momentous and climactic as the 2025 World Series, but there is still plenty to look forward to in the next 12 months, both in Japan and around the world.

Baseball

Shohei Ohtani is coming home! The baseball megastar will play for Japan in the World Baseball Classic in March, definitely as a hitter and maybe as a pitcher, although Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is against this. At the time of writing, Ohtani’s teammates Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki haven’t committed to appear. Warmup games start in Fukuoka on February 22, with Pool C matches running from March 5 to 10 at the Tokyo Dome. The knockout stages will take place in the United States. The Major League season kicks off on March 25 and Japanese will be glued to their screens to see if the Dodgers can repeat their 2025 success. In Japan, the baseball season will start on March 27, with Japan Series champions the Fukuoka Hawks facing Nippon Ham.

Soccer

It’s FIFA World Cup year again and Japan has qualified for the eighth time in a row. The World Cup is being cohosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States and presided over by FIFA Peace Award winner Donald Trump. The World Cup has expanded from 32 teams to 48 teams and Japan is in Group F with the Netherlands, Tunisia and a team yet to be decided (one of Ukraine, Sweden, Poland, Albania). Its first game is on June 15 against the Dutch in Dallas, followed by Tunisia on June 21 (in Monterrey, Mexico) and the final group game back in Dallas on June 26 (all Japan dates; the actual dates in North America will be one day earlier). Japan has reached the Round of 16 four times and will be hoping to emulate their success in Qatar in 2022 when they stunned Germany and Spain (both 2-1) in group games before losing to runners-up Croatia on penalties in the knockout stage. 

Winter Olympics

The Winter Games will be held in Italy from February 6 to 22 and Japan’s three gold medalists from 2022 in Beijing (snowboarder Ayumu Hirano, speedskater Miho Takagi and ski jumper Ryoyu Kobayashi) are expected to anchor the team again. Japan ended up with three gold medals, seven silvers and eight bronzes in Beijing, its highest medal total ever. Other medal contenders include figure skater Kaori Sakamoto, who won bronze in 2022 and was world champion three years running from 2022 to 2024, and the pair of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, also world champions. Beijing silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama will carry Japan’s hopes for a medal in the men’s event. Akito Watabe will lead Japan in the Nordic combined, while Ryusei Yamada and Sena Tomita are likely to be in a strong snowboarding team. For those who don’t know, the most exciting sport at any Olympics is short-track speedskating, but Japan has limited hopes in a sport dominated by South Korea, Canada and China. Shogo Miyata is currently ranked third in the 1,500 meters, which is only slightly less of a car crash on ice than the shorter distances.

Sumo

Aonishiki may have been the story of 2025, but sumo itself is surging in popularity, with a sold-out trip to London in October confirming its broad appeal. The Ukrainian had a stellar year on the dohyo, becoming the fastest to rise to ozeki from the lower ranks and winning his first Emperor’s Cup in November. His triumph in Kyushu stole some of the thunder from Onosato, who was promoted to yokozuna in May after collecting his fourth title. He became the first Japanese-born yokozuna in eight years and joined Hoshoryu – nephew of sumo great Asashoryu – in the top rank, the first time in four years that there have been two grand champions. Many are certain that Aonishiki won’t be far behind, making for a mouthwatering prospect for the six Grand Sumo Tournaments in 2026.

Golf

Those who think Shohei Ohtani is the most famous Japanese athlete in the world are, of course, quite wrong. Hideki Matsuyama probably holds that title. The 33-year-old may be one of sport’s most low-key superstars, despite winning two tournaments in each of the last two years and earning over $62 million in prize money. In truth, he needs another major to add to his 2021 Masters title and he should be higher than 29th in the Fedex rankings. Next year, he’ll be back, hopefully, for September’s Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club in the U.S. But it’s always possible he’ll be outshone by Japan’s women golfers, who were sensational in 2025, winning five tournaments on the LPGA Tour, including two majors: Mao Saigo at the Chevron Championship in Texas and Miyu Yamashita at the AIG Women’s Open in Wales. Rio Takeda picked up her second LPGA Tour title, but perhaps even more impressive were the LPGA Tour wins by twins Chisato and Akie Iwai. With Yamashita picking up the Rookie of the Year Award after two victories and 12 top-10 finishes, the future looks bright for Japan’s women.

Boxing

Another contender for most famous Japanese athlete outside of Japan is Naoya Inoue, rated by many as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, with 31 fights, 31 wins (27 by knockout) and unified world champion at two weights. Inoue fought four times in 2025, beating Kim Ye-joon by knockout, Ramon Cardenas by TKO, and Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Alan David Picasso by unanimous decision. Assuming they both come through December’s fights unscathed, next year he’s likely to fight compatriot Junto Nakatani, who has an almost identical record at the next weight down.

Notable dates

  • January 11-26: Grand Sumo Tournament, Tokyo 
  • February 6-22: Winter Olympics, Italy
  • March 1, Tokyo Marathon
  • March 5-10: World Baseball Classic, Tokyo
  • March 27-29: Formula 1 Grand Prix, Suzuka
  • May 16-17: World Triathlon Championship Series, Yokohama
  • June: FIFA World Cup, Mexico, Canada, United States
  • July 25-26: Formula E, Tokyo
  • July 24-August 2: World Lacrosse Women’s Championship, Tokyo
  • September 9-October 4: Asian Games, Nagoya
  • October 18-24: Asian Paralympic Games, Nagoya
  • November 20-22: Speedskating World Cup, Japan

Fred Varcoe is a British freelance journalist. He was formerly sports editor of the Japan Times and Metropolis magazine, and has written on sports, music, cars and other topics for the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, Billboard, Automobile Year, UPI, Reuters, the Japan Football Association, the International Volleyball Association and various websites.