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The Student News Site of The American School in Japan

HANABI

The Student News Site of The American School in Japan

HANABI

The Student News Site of The American School in Japan

HANABI

Mustang Aces: From the Eyes of our Tennis Players

Mustang Aces: From the Eyes of our Tennis Players

Article by Derrick Ma, Writer December 12, 2025

The ASIJ Tennis Team galloped past the finish line of their fall season in style: Varsity Girls dominated, placing first at the Kanto Plain Finals and finishing third in the Jeju Tournament, while Varsity...

300 Games - Reflecting on Varsity Boys’ Soccer Coach Vergel’s Career

300 Games – Reflecting on Varsity Boys’ Soccer Coach Vergel’s Career

Article by Lysandre Stone-Bourgeois, Writer November 10, 2025

Middle School Science Teacher Pete Vergel has served as the Varsity Boys’ Soccer Coach for 298 games, and is now preparing to coach his 300th Varsity Boys' Soccer game at ASIJ. In doing so, he reflects...

Asia Pacific International: Cross Country’s Thrilling Trip to Guam

Asia Pacific International: Cross Country’s Thrilling Trip to Guam

Article by Andrew Doll, Writer November 4, 2025

Every athlete knows the anticipation before a game. The nervous energy that flutters like butterflies in their body, the adrenaline pumping their muscles to peak performance, and the mindset that they...

A Game of Inches: ASIJ JV Boys Basketball Reflect on Thrilling Loss to SMIS

A Game of Inches: ASIJ JV Boys Basketball Reflect on Thrilling Loss to SMIS

Article by Lysandre Stone-Bourgeois, Writer January 26, 2025

Our Mustang Junior Varsity Boys Basketball team endured a tough loss against Saint Mary's International School (SMIS) on Friday, January 24th, as the game ended in favor of SMIS 48-47. The game included...

Varsity Basketball Team Spotlight: Success through leadership

Varsity Basketball Team Spotlight: Success through leadership

Article by Lysandre Stone-Bourgeois, Writer December 10, 2024

The ASIJ Varsity Basketball team has had an ambitious season under Coach Ryan Naughton. With a strong focus on personal growth, team chemistry, and competitiveness, this year's Boys Mustang Basketball...

Assessing the ASIJ Cross Country Team: Promising growth and potential

Assessing the ASIJ Cross Country Team: Promising growth and potential

Article by Lysandre Stone-Bourgeois, Jackson Bomongcag, and Ian Zacharias October 18, 2024

Cross Country may seem simple. Fifty to two hundred individuals on a trail, racing anywhere from five to ten kilometers, aiming for the fastest time to win the race. However, behind the scenes exists a...

Varsity Cross Country Victorious at Far East Championship

Varsity Cross Country Victorious at Far East Championship

Article by Ruby Gardner, Writer October 26, 2023

At Misawa Air Base on Tuesday, the ASIJ varsity cross country team claimed victory in the Division I Far East Championship. Individually, the boys’ team earned first place and the girls’ team second...

Fall Sports Recap

Fall Sports Recap

Article by Sam Barbir, Writer December 22, 2022

The 2022 Fall season witnessed new changes across multiple sports. With COVID restrictions slowly lifting, fans were allowed back, and trips began to be reintroduced. Mustangs traveled both to places across...

Jim Walmsley and the Sport of Ultramarathoning

Jim Walmsley and the Sport of Ultramarathoning

Article by Sam Barbir, Writer December 9, 2021

To many, running one mile in under 6 minutes is a challenge. For those who run regularly, trying to run at that pace for 5 kilometers is a feat in and of itself. Now can you imagine doing that for 100...

The Exhilarating Battle for the Formula 1 Championship

The Exhilarating Battle for the Formula 1 Championship

Article by Ren Topping, Editor-in-chief December 5, 2021

Since 1958, Formula 1 has seen 15 different teams win the constructor’s championship, that is, the drivers in that team’s car have collectively scored more points than the drivers in any other team’s...

Professional Sports Tackle Vaccine Mandates

Professional Sports Tackle Vaccine Mandates

Article by Sam Barbir, Writer November 2, 2021

It’s fair to say that the COVID vaccine has stirred up debate in many areas of society, and vaccine mandates have led some to refuse to cooperate. This has been especially notable in professional sports,...

Legal Doping? The Footprint of Shoe Technology

Legal Doping? The Footprint of Shoe Technology

Article by Sam Barbir, Writer October 13, 2021

The sport of track and field has developed a reputation for performance-enhancing drugs. Despite the World Anti-Doping Agency’s attempts to enforce its laws with regular testing, many top-level athletes...

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