Event Notes: Tokyo Marathon To Join World Marathon Majors In 2013

The Tokyo metropolitan government revealed the Tokyo Marathon will join the World Marathon Majors in '13. It will be the first in Asia and the world’s sixth major marathon race, joining Berlin, London, Boston, Chicago and N.Y. (DPA, 11/2). KYODO reported Tokyo Vice Governor Naoki Inose believes that the Japanese capital's inclusion will provide a boost to the city's bid to the stage the 2020 Olympics. Inose said, "This will beam out to the world the attraction of Japan and Tokyo and boost the Olympic bid" (KYODO, 11/3). ... The Ultimate Fighting Championship will "debut at martial arts' birthplace in a bid to build a new market in the world's most populous country." UFC will bring its first event to China, on the peninsula of Macau, on Saturday, staging a fight between former UFC champion Rich Franklin and Vietnam-born American Cung Le at the Cotai Arena at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel (CHINA DAILY, 11/2).