A former Samurai Blue defender nicknamed the “Batman” because he donned a black mask to protect his broken nose in the 2002 World Cup will become the new chief of the Japan Football Association.

Japan’s run at the 2022 Qatar World Cup was called “magical” by some pundits, but that result would be a disappointment for Samurai Blue members who are preparing for the 2026 tournament. Advancing to ...

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Japan’s men reached the last 16 by playing defensive soccer. But at the 2014 tournament in Brazil, while aiming for a more attacking style, the team crashed ...

Japan's flag is red and white, so the blue jerseys at the World Cup throw people. The nickname is Samurai Blue, which only makes the kit color sound older and more deliberate than it really is. It ...

Samurai Blue players, from center left, Shinji Kagawa, Yuto Nagatomo, Gotoku Sakai and Keisuke Honda, head for the boarding gate of their flight to Austria, at Narita International Airport, on June 2, ...

SEEFELD, Austria -- Japan's national soccer team on June 5 continued practicing set plays and shooting here before their upcoming appearance in the FIFA World Cup in Russia later in the month.

Japan fans caught a dose of samurai fever on Friday, celebrating in big numbers after the national team earned a rare trip into the knockout stage of the World Cup. The national team, dubbed Blue ...

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Japan defender Yuto Nakatomo has told his teammates they'll need to show “samurai spirit” in Monday's round-of-16 match against Croatia at the World Cup. And they'll need another ...

Though baseball and sumo have long reigned supreme as Japan’s most cherished sports, soccer’s Samurai Blue are the national team that has captured the hearts and minds of the public in a way that no ...

Japan's exit from the World Cup on Monday was soccer at its cruelest, but once the dust has settled the team will be able to look back on its campaign with pride and satisfaction. Japan was denied a ...