Japan
Business

Japanese baseball players staged the first strike in the history of the sport in Japan after extended negotiations with team officials failed to reach an agreement.
Sponsorship & Marketing

Total Sports Asia (TSA), a leading sports marketing company in Asia, has announced further expansion with the opening of a new office in Nariman Point, Mumbai.
Business

Real Madrid is the football club with the biggest potential global fan base according to a survey of 1,000 people in 13 countries carried out by Sport+Markt.
Business

Japanese baseball players have won concessions from management related to a proposed club merger, staving off an historic strike.
Events

Koya Kikuchi has joined IMG as managing director of IMG Japan.
Business

The first players' strike in the history of Japanese baseball moved closer after the owners of Japan's 12 professional teams approved the merger between the Orix BlueWave and Kintetsu Buffaloes.
Business

A Japanese high court said a proposed merger between two pro baseball teams could proceed, rejecting an appeal by players for an injunction against the plan.
Business

The Japanese baseball players union will decide next week whether to call a strike over a planned merger of two professional teams.
Sponsorship & Marketing

A leading sports marketing agency in Asia, Total Sports Asia (TSA), has added to operations in Malaysia and Japan by establishing offices in India (Mumbai) and China (Shanghai).
Business

Vodafone has signed a new one-year sponsorship agreement with David Beckham, which, the company says, reinforces the continuation of a successful global partnership.
Events

The Asian Cup final between China and Japan has smashed viewing records to become the most watched single sports event in the history of Chinese television.
Business

Major League Baseball chiefs will travel to Japan for talks next month, as speculation mounts the inaugural baseball World Cup may be pushed back 12 months.
Media

IEC in Sports has been appointed to handle the international television distribution for the Korea, Japan and China legs of the Barcelona Asian Tour.
Business

Europe will host the 2009 IAAF World Championships after the final bids to stage the athletics showcase were received by the sport’s governing body.
Sponsorship & Marketing

Japanese giant Dentsu has bought a 30 percent equity stake in Asian marketing company the World Sport Group (WSG).

TWI has been re-appointed to distribute Manchester United Television (MUTV) worldwide for the next three seasons.

Val d’Isere has won the right to host the FIS 2009 Alpine Skiing World Championship.
Business

UEFA will meet with club chiefs next week to discuss whether it should force teams to take part in FIFA’s reborn Club World Championships.