The Japan Times<p>Japan has ambitious plans to become a basketball powerhouse but a row involving star player Rui Hachimura and disagreements over the domestic league's direction mean success is anything but a slam dunk. <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2025/05/06/basketball/b-league/japan-basketball-headwinds/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">japantimes.co.jp/sports/2025/0</span><span class="invisible">5/06/basketball/b-league/japan-basketball-headwinds/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/basketball" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>basketball</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/bleague" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>bleague</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/yutawatanabe" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>yutawatanabe</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/ruihachimura" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ruihachimura</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/shinjishimada" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>shinjishimada</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/akatsukifive" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>akatsukifive</span></a></p>