Japanese teen golfer Ryo Ishikawa said Tuesday he will donate all of his earnings in 2011 to the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in his country.
In addition to what he earns from the JGTO Tour and major tournaments overseas, Ishikawa will donate 100,000 yen for every birdie he makes.
Ishikawa has earned more than 100 million yen in each of the past three seasons since he turned pro in January 2008 at age 16.
Last year, he made 151 million yen for third place on the Japanese money list …

They wore their hopes on their sleeves.
Japan had three horses running in the Dubai World Cup on Saturday, and from the moment they arrived at Meydan Racecourse they stood as potent reminders of the catastrophe back home.
One of them, Victoire Pisa, delivered some rare good news by winning the $10 million Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest horse race. The winner edged another Japanese horse, Transcend, at the wire by a half length.
Fans of Victoire Pisa were in tears as the national anthem played. Many of the Japanese teams wore …

Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is donating $1 million to the team’s official charity for victims of the earthquake and tsunami in his native Japan.
The team said Friday the right-hander’s gift to the Red Sox Foundation will be sent to the Japanese Red Cross Society to aid response to the March 11 disaster.
Boston’s other Japanese pitchers—Hideki Okajima, Junichi Tazawa and Itsuki Shoda—also have made personal donations and joined Matsuzaka, team captain Jason Varitek and others in collecting donations from fans at two spring training games in Florida.
The Red Sox …

NISEKO, Japan – A new language can be heard on the slopes of this popular ski resort in northern Japan: Chinese.
Foreign tourists and investors have flocked to scenic Niseko in recent years, giving this rural region a badly needed economic jolt. It is a rare success story that, if replicated, could help lead Japan out of two decades of stagnation.
Australians were the first to arrive in the early 2000s, followed by skiers from Hong Kong, Singapore and elsewhere in Asia. Mainland Chinese, while still relatively few, are the latest — …

Fashion model Tokuzawa Naoko (26) is expecting her first child, it has been learned. Sources say she is now entering her fifth month of pregnancy, and the child is due in mid-August. It is also said that she will be heading to the United States in early April to join her husband, Minnesota Twins infielder Nishioka Tsuyoshi (26).
Tokuzawa and Nishioka got married last year on July 27, Nishioka’s birthday. Around the end of last year, they discovered that Tokuzawa was pregnant, though Nishioka had already negotiated a deal to play …

Two-time double Olympic gold medallist Kosuke Kitajima set a third new national record in three attempts to bring down the curtain on Japan’s short course swimming championships Sunday.
The 28-year-old from Tokyo, who set a new national record in winning the men’s 100-metre breaststroke on Saturday, easily won the 50m with a time of 26.68 seconds, ahead of Koichiro Okazaki and Akihide Kawakubo.
Kitajima, winner of the 100m and 200m in the Athens and Beijing Olympics, completed his national haul by winning the last race, the 200m breaststroke, in 2:02:95, beating Naoya …

Japan’s Chie Arimura shot a one-under 71 for a one-stroke lead over Karrie Webb of Australia after the third round of the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore on Saturday.
Arimura had two birdies and one bogey for an 11-under 205 going into the final round. Webb shot a 70.
Read the rest of the story: Japan’s Arimura Leads Webb at HSBC.

Japan’s Chie Arimura shot a first round 68 to take a one-stroke lead Thursday after 18 holes at the HSBC Women’s Champions tournament, with world number one Yani Tseng two further back.
The Japanese, playing in her first tournament of the year, had a near-perfect round until a costly bogey on the 17th hole marred her outing at the $1.4-million event at Singapore’s Tanah Merah Country Club.
"Among the 18 holes I only missed out on this one today. It is a shame but I have tried, there is nothing much I …

The world’s first full-length marathon for two-legged robots kicked off in Japan on Thursday, with the toy-sized humanoids were due to run 42.195 kilometres (26 miles) over four days.
The machines began the non-stop race on a 100-metre (109-yard) indoor track in the western city of Osaka after doing knee bends or raising their hands to greet spectators.
The bipedal robots — the tallest of which measures 44 centimetres (17.6 inches) — must complete 423 laps to reach their goal.
Read the rest of the story: Robot marathon kicks off in Japan.

World champion Daisuke Takahashi of Japan breezed to victory in the men’s competition at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships Saturday, electrifying the crowd with his precision, power and poise.
Aside from missing a quad toeloop at the beginning of his program, the 24-year-old Takahashi was near perfect, scoring a season’s best 160.51 in the free skate for a total of 244.00, after his dominating performance in Friday’s short program.
Fellow Japanese Yuzuru Hanyu, the 2020 world junior champion, was second with 228.01 after scoring a personal best of 151.58 in the …