InsideJapan News Network

As the country continues to recover from the March 11th earthquake, Japan's horseracing schedule got back underway over the weekend (March 19th-20th), while wrestling is due to resume next month.

The first post-quake races got underway in Osaka on Saturday at the Hanshin and Kokura tracks, Japan Times reported, with all proceeds going to tsunami relief efforts.

Jockey Yutaka Take said: "We want to do anything we can to help, even the smallest of things." A minute's silence was observed before the race, while the Japanese flag was flown at half-mast.

However, Nakayama Racecourse in Chiba Prefecture will remain closed at least until the end of the month due to rolling blackouts and transport problems.

Moreover, it has been announced that three wrestling meets scheduled for April will go ahead, including the national championships in Tokyo and Yokohama.

Two-time defending Olympic champion Saori Yoshida will sell autographed T-shirts at the meets to raise money for victims of the earthquake.

Meanwhile, the Asia Series of Baseball is due to go ahead in Taiwan in November, the region's professional baseball governing body said on Friday.

Written by Mark Smith


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