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CLOUDY
Farmers in the city of Tamura, Fukushima Prefecture, have begun planting rice in a district once designated a no-go zone because of radioactive fallout ejected by the disaster-hit Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
Recently I was asked to write a blurb for a new liquid plant-nutrient. As soon as I saw the name of the product, 早根早起 （Hayane Hayaoki), I smiled at this example of linguistic creativity. The four characters translate loosely as “early root, early sprouting”; ...
Life in Japan just seems tailor-made for certain foreign residents, who slip into the fabric of this society as smoothly as a hand slides into a glove. American Curtis Patterson, a professional koto player and music teacher, is a case in point. Not only ...
Denmark’s Emmelie de Forest won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night with her ethno-inspired flute and drum tune “Only Teardrops,” despite tough competition from spectacular stage shows by performers from Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Juries and television viewers across Europe awarded the barefoot, ...
One team’s quest for a first title has ended. The other team’s fight will continue next season. The Yokohama B-Corsairs outplayed the Rizing Fukuoka in Sunday’s bj-league championship game, controlling the tempo for larger stretches and making enough timely baskets to fill an instructional ...
What has been expected for many months is now official: Makoto Hasegawa is set to retire after this season, the Akita Sakigake Shimpo and other media outlets reported on Tuesday, Hasegawa’s 42nd birthday. The veteran point guard, who has only appeared in eight games ...
In front of his hometown crowd, captain Masayuki Kabaya didn’t celebrate a bounce-back victory on Sunday in the Yokohama B-Corsairs’ series finale against the Rizing Fukuoka. Yokohama had an opportunity to win the game on its final possession, but guard Draelon Burns’ last-possession, top-of-the-key ...
Trailing 11-7 after the opening quarter, the Osaka Evessa were playing a rather ordinary game against the host Miyazaki Shining Suns.
Terry Cummings' success as an NBA player inspired his son, T.J., who now plays for the Sendai 89ers, to follow in his footsteps.
Like a bullet train zooming across the Japanese countryside, Bill Cartwright has rapidly transformed the Osaka Evessa into a much-improved basketball team. It’s been an impressive turnaround. The numbers clearly show that: 12 wins in 18 games, and seven straight victories under his tutelage. ...
Taking a look back at an action-packed Sunday in the bj-league. News, notes and observations… *On Sunday morning, I briefly conversed with a middle-aged train engineer at Sendai Station while en route to Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, for the Sendai 89ers-Osaka Evessa series finale. The ...
In Bill Cartwright’s view, team spirit is a unifying force that can deliver results and guide a team on the path to success. And he should know, having played a starring role for the Chicago Bulls’ first three-peat (1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93) and absorbing ...
Shimane Susanoo Magic coach Zeljko Pavlicevic’s club reached the 30-win plateau for the first time in franchise history on Saturday, beating the visiting Toyama Grouses 90-78. MVP candidate Michael Parker scored 22 points on 11-for-16 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots, and ...
The Saitama Broncos find themselves in a familiar place as the season heads into its stretch run — near the bottom of the pack. And they will miss the playoffs for an eighth consecutive season. But since All-Star John “Helicopter” Humphrey’s return after missing ...
All-Star guard Draelon Burns played a game for the first time in nearly a month, and made an impressive all-around impact. Burns had 18 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, a season-high five steals and a blocked shot in the B-Corsairs’ 81-67 victory over the ...
Rebounding from an 0-8 start this season, the Kyoto Hannaryz then rattled off eight straight victories to return to respectability. A quick update: In their last 10 games, they’ve gone 5-5. And the Hannaryz (21-16) currently occupy sixth place in the bj-league’s 10-team Western ...
With nearly one-third of the season now spent under Bill Cartwright, the Osaka Evessa have made great strides since a miserable 5-19 start under two former bench bosses, Zoran Kreckovic and Takao Furuya. Cartwright has instilled discipline, a commitment to fundamentals and a hunger ...