Sport in Japan sports in the country at grassroots level. Currently the Japan Cricket Association is popularising the game with the help of the popularity of baseball, which has significant similarities to cricket. It is an associate member of the International Cricket Council. Ice hockey is a minor sport but growing in popularity. Currently, 4 Japanese teams compete in the Asia League Ice Hockey. Rugby union is a moderately popular sport in Japan. The Japanese national rugby union team, controlled by the Japan Rugby Football Union, has been to every Rugby World Cup since 1987. The country will host the Rugby World Cup
Bill Bryson Cownie, the mayor of Des Moines, awarded Bryson the key to the city and announced that October 21, 2006 would be known as "Bill Bryson, The Thunderbolt Kid, Day". In January 2007, he was the Schwartz Visiting Fellow at the Pomfret School in Connecticut. Bryson has written the following books: Bill Bryson William McGuire Bryson (; born 8 December 1951) is an Anglo-American author of books on travel, the English language, science, and other non-fiction topics. Born in the United States, he has been a resident of Britain for most of his adult life, returning to the United States between