Jim Armstrong

1 week ago | featured.japan-forward.com | Jim Armstrong

The X Games are set to make their highly anticipated debut in Osaka on Friday, June 20 with a few new twists added to the elite action sports event in Japan. For the first time since 2022, the event will be held in the Kansai region and will feature women's skateboard vert, a competition never previously contested at the X Games in Japan. In the past three years, the X Games Japan were held in Chiba, near Tokyo.

3 weeks ago | featured.japan-forward.com | Jim Armstrong

Every championship team needs a player like Shugo Maki. The Yokohama DeNA BayStars infielder was a big contributor to his team's Japan Series triumph in 2024 and is chipping in again this year in a big way. After a bit of a slow start, the BayStars turned it up a notch in May and headed into June in second place in the Central League standings, just 2½ games behind the front-running Hanshin Tigers.

2 months ago | featured.japan-forward.com | Jim Armstrong

Reigning Formula One champion Max Verstappen continued his mastery at the Suzuka Circuit on Sunday, April 6, holding off the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to win his fourth straight Japanese Grand Prix. Starting from pole position, the Red Bull driver maintained his lead throughout the race, except briefly after a pit stop midway through, and took the checkered flag after 53 laps with a 1.423-second lead over Norris for his first win of 2025.

2 months ago | featured.japan-forward.com | Jim Armstrong

Reigning Formula One champion Max Verstappen stormed to his fourth straight pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday, April 5, but his teammate Yuki Tsunoda had a disappointing debut for Red Bull. Verstappen edged McLaren driver Lando Norris by 0.012 seconds in the final qualifying session with a new lap record of 1 minute, 26.983 seconds at the Suzuka Circuit. Chinese Grand Prix winner Oscar Piastri, also of McLaren, was third fastest in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture.

2 months ago | japan-forward.com | Jim Armstrong

Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda heads into his home Grand Prix with the biggest opportunity of his Formula One career. After just two races, Red Bull announced on Thursday, March 27, that Tsunoda would replace Liam Lawson at the senior team beginning with the April 4-6 Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit. Lawson will move down to Racing Bulls (Red Bull's second-tier team), where Tsunoda started the 2025 season. It's a huge step up for Tsunoda, who gets a seat at one of Formula One's elite teams.