WEYMOUTH: What do you hope to accomplish in Washington? ABE: I believe the Japan-U.S. alliance is the only indispensable alliance, and I’d like to use my visit to further strengthen this relationship. How do you feel about the recent agreement on the North Korean nuclear program? I welcome this agreement but what is important is that North Korea act in a concrete manner to abandon nuclear weapons. Do you feel sidelined because the Japanese government has said it will not participate in the U....

Another coup for the dogged engineers of the Japanese economic miracle? That’s what Mitsubishi wants its customers to believe. In normal times, many would. But with Japan in its first economic slump since the mid-’80s, times are anything but normal. The Japanese have gone into a national funk. Suddenly, nearly everything linked with their economic success–like long working hours and high savings rates-is open to question. Astonishingly, the hand wringing now extends even to the holiest of all management grails, “quality....

It was a deserved and highly encouraging victory for John Herdman’s side, who fell behind to an early goal by Japan’s Yuki Soma, who flicked home a ball over the top in the eighth minute. But Canada were swiftly level as Japan struggled to deal with a series of dangerous corners from Junior Hoilett. Captain Atiba Hutchinson helped one on in the 21st minute and Steven Vitoria swept it home....

Currently, Jagr is with the Czech hockey team HC Kladno. He is both a player for the team and its owner. That has allowed him to continue playing, and he doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon. NHL ALL-STAR GAME: Full rosters, list of participants Why does Jagr continue to play? It boils down to one simple thing, as he explained on the NHL on TNT’s intermission show with Wayne Gretzky on Wednesday....

Already in the mix, 25-year-old Jaron Ennis is ready to take over. He must first get over a few hurdles in his way. “Boots” has been a patient man as he waits, along with fight fans, to see if Spence and Crawford fight one another to determine an undisputed welterweight champion. Negotiations have stalled since contract negotiations fell apart towards the end of 2022. Crawford fought David Avanesyan in December instead of Spence, while Spence may fight Keith Thurman....

The American was due to do battle with Jerry Forrest at the MGM Grand on July 9; however, the fight has been removed from the schedule amid reports the 31-year-old tested positive for a banned substance. Miller, nicknamed Big Baby, admitted he “messed up” after missing out on facing Anthony Joshua in June last year, leading to Andy Ruiz Jr replacing him in the main event. MORE: Whyte to fight Povetkin in Hearn’s “Fight Camp”...

So, there’s push-and-pull with the four-year, $30 million extension Spezza signed on Friday. He’s a productive player, despite some decline at 5-on-5, and he’d undoubtedly have gotten more had he waited until unrestricted free agency; the top scoring forwards set to hit the market are Nick Foligno, Mike Ribeiro, Martin St. Louis, Antoine Vermette and Carl Soderberg. Plus, the deal will count for a little less than 11 percent of a projected $70 million cap....

The Ottawa Senators center, an 80-point scorer in 2012-13 who missed most of last season with a back injury, told the Ottawa Citizen that Ryan is "a big addition." And he's right—Ryan, 26 and a four-time 30-plus goal-scorer, was added via trade on the first day of free agency. Skating him full-time with a playmaker like Spezza will be interesting. MORE: Spezza a snub at Team Canada Olympic camp...

The NBA announced Wednesday it is suspending the season indefinitely after Gobert’s coronavirus test came back positive. Those test results forced the NBA to postpone the Jazz-Thunder game scheduled for Wednesday night and kept Utah and Oklahoma City players quarantined in their locker rooms at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell was the only other Utah player or personnel member to test positive for the virus, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, but Gobert faced plenty of criticism for his flippant attitude toward the pandemic....

The Red Eagles showed their intention of becoming one of the title contenders this season, when they defeated Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) on penalty shootout in the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Cup on Friday, after the regulation time had ended level with a 1-1 scoreline. JDT’s goal was scored by Safiq Rahim, a first half penalty, before Kedah’s Baddrol Bakhtiar equalised in the second. Defending cup and MSL champions JDT started with only three foreign players on the pitch, with Jerónimo Barrales starting from the bench....

The draw for the 2017 Malaysia Cup has finally happened. In a long-drawn affair where viewers were even treated to how the papers were rolled and inserted into the individual balls, before the draw was eventually made. Last year’s champions Kedah should be the favourite to get out of Group C as they are put together with Kelantan, Melaka United and UiTM FC. Meanwhile, Super League leaders Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) will face Selangor, Sarawak and Terengganu in Group D....

Jedinak hasn’t featured for club side Aston Villa since September 12 and is likely still having problems with a chronic groin strain he picked up in April. Aziz Behich, Craig Goodwin, Matthew Jurman, Nikita Rukavytsya and Josh Risdon have been added to the squad while Matt Spiranovic, Alex Gersbach, Awer Mabil, Jamie Maclaren and Ryan McGowan are the players omitted from the list of players selected to face Japan/Thailand....

His 1,001st start will be the season finale next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. But how many more there will be beyond that remains to be determined. Burton, who will leave Richard Childress Racing after this season, has been saying for a month that he knows what he’ll be doing in 2014. Despite those assurances, he has yet to announce anything. MORE: Winless drivers | Harvick calls RCR dispute ‘family spat’ | Possible crew chief moves | Wallace tirade...

Thanks to his class, his professionalism, his accessibility and his general greatness, Gordon was one of those star athletes who was practically untouchable when it came to the media. It’s hard to criticize a driver who wins 93 races and four championships, and does it with humility and grace. MORE: Classic photos of Jeff Gordon Oh, there were times when Gordon made a bonehead move and took someone out — like every driver does — or lost his temper and created a ruckus....

Hafley wants to find the mesh point between college football and the NFL to revive a middling program that has a 57-69 record since 2010. For the 40-year-old coach, there is an answer as to why somebody would want to do that. “Because you get a combination of two great leagues,” Hafley told Sporting News with no reservations. “There are so many great things in the National Football League that I spent seven years in and got to learn and experience and see....

Juan Alessi has said he did not know the “sickening” New York financier was abusing underage girls at his Florida mansion, as has been alleged. However, he told podcast Broken: Seeking Justice that he had warned Epstein he was seeing too many women. Alessi said: “He complained about his back. I said ‘John, you’ve got to take it easy. “‘These women, how can you do it? You’re gonna be in trouble....

President George W. Bush has seen a steadily weakening dollar as an answer to its ever-widening current account deficit. After all, the dollar has depreciated about 25 percent against a basket of currencies since 2002 without a peep from Washington. The United States has been pushing relentlessly for China and other Asian countries to revalue their currencies, thereby trying to make the greenback relatively weaker. And we’ve seen no sign that the United States is ready to broker a more orderly rebalancing of key currencies among major countries....

Psaki was discussing the newly passed $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package. The bill’s implementation will be overseen by former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Biden filled a similar role when he served as vice president under then President Barack Obama and recalled on November 12 that some people had called him ‘Sheriff Biden’ at the time. The president issued an executive order establishing a taskforce to implement the infrastructure bill and Psaki referred to it on Monday....

The former adult film star, 47, announced via Instagram on Monday that she had been diagnosed with the rare autoimmune disorder after battling ill health for weeks. But her partner, Lior Bitton, took to Jameson’s social media account on Wednesday to reveal that her condition has failed to improve under her current treatment, leading to questions over her diagnosis. Speaking in a self-shot video, he said of the star: “She’s not doing so well....