A dozen women in sports bras and tight shorts stood behind a U-shaped counter at an underground bar in a busy Tokyo ...

TOKYO (AP) — Sumo is more than a sport in Japan. It’s a sacred tradition, a 1,500-year-old spectacle steeped in Shinto ritual and ceremony. But at its heart lies a long-standing taboo: women are still ...

Women aren’t permitted to enter the sumo ring. Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s first female leader, did not present the Prime Minister’s Cup at a major tournament.

We tend to look back at MMA’s early days as a volatile, unpredictable and borderline unhinged collection of bizarro pugilism loosely defining the “era.” Japan’s all-women fight promotion Smackgirl, ...

THE TWO young contenders grab at each other’s loincloths. A referee keeps up the shout of “nokotta nokotta”, indicating that the wrestlers are still in the game. Suddenly one lunges forward, sending ...

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