J-Arena

Breaking - a dance form, culture and now sport, all dynamically fused into one - is about to become the latest youth-focused addition to the Olympics at Paris 2024. B-Boys and B-Girls from Japan regularly battle for top spot on the world stage. Among them is B-Boy Shigekix, whose evolution since we first met him in 2019 has been simply phenomenal. As B-Boy Shigekix continues to push the boundaries of creativity and technique with his signature style, his battles reveal just how fine the margins between winning and losing can be at the very highest level.

Taido is a relatively young martial art, developed in the 1960s, with its roots in Okinawan karate. The intriguing discipline includes fluid, highly acrobatic elements reminiscent of gymnastics or parkour. Taido emphasizes the core stability required to remain orientated during rapid, rotating attacks. Such stability is built through the rigorous observance of painstakingly coordinated body movement and posture. Deeply grounded in respect for precision, Taido's flamboyant techniques combine both novelty and tradition. We uncover the unique appeal of this remarkable art.

Freestyle Wrestling is a sport that demands explosive power, split-second judgment and grinding determination. Japan has been a powerhouse of women's wrestling for many years, typically scooping up multiple golds in international competition, including 4 at last summer's 2020 Tokyo Games. This week we meet Mukaida Mayu, a wrestler who truly blossomed in Tokyo where she became the 53kg class champion. Supported by her coach and life partner, Mukaida fought her path to the podium with a passionate yet strategic performance, dispelling the frustration of past disappointments.

At last year's Tokyo Paralympics, Japan clinched silver in the men's wheelchair basketball, their first-ever medal in the event. At the heart of the team was star player Chokai Renshi. Both a talented basketball player and a budding writer, Chokai is working to change the public image of para-sport. His motto is "Don't try to be perfect, just be different." Chokai, who has no lower legs and is missing fingers on both hands, writes in the preface to his book "With my body and mind together, I am complete." We learn what drives this focused young athlete and retrace the action from Tokyo 2020.

Boccia is a Paralympic sport that demands chess-like tactical awareness and immense mental focus to outscore your opponent. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Japanese athlete Sugimura Hidetaka showed the world his intricate placement shots and pinpoint accuracy, delivering a triumphant performance imbued with years of meticulous training with his therapist and coach, who helped train him with a combination of specialized exercises and match simulations. Sugimura's distinctive style and cool-as-ice focus are a joy to watch, as he gives us an insight into the intricacies of this fascinating sport.

Japan's women's basketball team use fast-paced, space-creating "small ball" tactics to make up for their relative height disadvantage – drawing out the opposition defense and exploiting the gaps created with highly polished three-point shooting. We trace the team's history and the evolution of their tactical approach, in particular under head coach Tom Hovasse, who helped them adapt and refine their strategy after they lost their key power forward to injury in the run-up to Tokyo 2020.

Softball first arrived in Japan from the U.S. around a century ago, and since the 1960s the 2 countries' women's teams have enjoyed a friendly rivalry on the world stage. While the U.S. were long the dominant force in the sport, recent years have seen Japan sharpen their game and soar to new heights. Following Japan's historic repeat softball gold at Tokyo 2020, a revamped professional women's softball league in Japan now hopes to build on the momentum and attract new players and fans to the sport.

BMX Freestyle Park was one of the new youth-focused events to debut at Tokyo 2020. Defined by its breathtaking aerial acrobatics, riders constantly push the boundaries of what's possible on a BMX bike. Japan's standout rider in Tokyo was 20-year-old Nakamura Rim. He now faces a new rival, 16-year-old Mizogaki Joji, who is hot on Nakamura's tails for the top spot as he forges his own original style. We speak to a veteran of Japan's BMX scene Nishi Takase about the 2 young riders, as well as the development of the sport in Japan as a whole.

Aggressive inline skating took the world by storm in the 1990s, giving birth to a whole culture and movement in the process. Since then, the sport has never stopped evolving, with skaters constantly pushing themselves to get more technical, outrageous and daring with their tricks. We introduce a Japanese skater who has won multiple world titles and is arguably the top female skater of her generation. We follow her through some dramatic ups and downs, as she embarks on the journey to defend her position as world number one.

Wushu, the modern competitive sport form of traditional Chinese martial arts, also enjoys a popular following in Japan, with high-level competitions held. For performance routines, artistic expression and acrobatic athleticism are both indispensable, with judges also looking for realism and an understanding of martial arts principles. Two former national champions share insights into their respective styles, as well as the qualities of a winning performance. We also meet a film crew of former wushu competitors looking to kickstart a new kung fu action movie trend in Japan.

Japan's female long and middle-distance runners have been making their mark on the world stage. Two of the most promising talents to emerge in recent years, Tanaka Nozomi and Hironaka Ririka, share a strong rivalry on the track. 1,500m and 10,000m specialists respectively, their contrasting approach to the 5,000m always makes for a thrilling contest when the pair go head-to-head in competition. Former Olympian and long-distance runner Masuda Akemi joins us, as we track the progress of these 2 impressive young runners.

Sumo is a traditional Japanese sport, and its amateur counterpart is growing in popularity around the world. Sumo wrestlers from Ukraine clinched an impressive 9 medals, at the 2022 World Games in July. One reason for their strong showing was the preparatory training camp organized in Japan for wrestlers escaping the conflict in their home country. We talked with them and looked into their passion for sumo.

Digital tech is increasingly shaping the experience of sports fans, connecting athletes and supporters in pandemic times. Social media, online fan clubs and live streaming events are now central to fan base engagement. Digital innovations are also creating new ways to secure funding, independent of corporate sponsors, as crowd-based funding models are opening new doors to professional sport. We explore the changing relationships and shrinking distances between athletes and fans.

Race Walking is one of athletics' most punishing disciplines, requiring precise form across long distances. Japan is a world leader in the sport, but its current success lies in learning from past failure at the 2003 World Championships. Re-assessing training techniques has given birth to a new generation of talented athletes who regularly win medals internationally. We also follow star Race Walker, Yamanishi Toshikazu, and how he dealt with disappointment at the 2020 Olympic Games to recover and reclaim his World Championship title.

We take a look at vertical running, a unique urban sport where athletes race up the stairs of tall buildings and landmark towers. Although it is an easy sport to take up, it pushes runners to extremes. The first ever vertical running race reportedly took place at the Eiffel Tower in 1905. One of the most famous races, first held in 1978, involves climbing the stairs of the Empire State Building. Around the world, more than 100,000 people take part in the sport. Recently, it is growing in popularity in Japan, and one Japanese runner is now among the world's best.

In BMX Freestyle Flatland—sometimes considered cycling's version of figure skating—riders compete by executing incredible tricks in an arena without ramps or jumps. Tricks include spinning on the BMX bike's wheels or riding on the handlebars. Japan has produced many of the sport's top stars, and the competition for the Japan National Championships sees international and X-Games champions battle it out. We follow two top Japanese riders as they prepare for the final event of the domestic tour, and learn more about the appeal of this fascinating sport.

Japan has a long history with gymnastics. While China was traditionally known for precision and Russia for power, Japan focused on gymnastic beauty. The 60s and 70s were Japan's golden age. Although the 80s and 90s yielded fewer successes, Japan's fortunes began to change in the early 2000s, thanks to the all-around world champion Tomita Hiroyuki, before Uchimura Kohei fully restored Japan to its former glory. Today, younger gymnasts such as Hashimoto Daiki, combine dynamism with beauty. We look at the continued evolution of men's gymnastics in Japan.

Roller Freestyle VERT is one of the most exciting and daring extreme sports. In November 2022, it was featured in the WORLD SKATE GAMES for the first time. One Japanese skater, Yasutoko Takeshi, who has dominated the sport for the past two decades, has his sights set on becoming the first ever champion. He is also known as the creator of the Double Viking Flip, a trick so difficult that no other skater has been able to pull it off. As Takeshi trains for the WORLD SKATE GAMES, he is determined to make the trick for the first time in 15 years.