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May 15, 2025
 

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Jason Coskrey

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Jason Coskrey
Jason Coskrey is a sports writer for The Japan Times. His primary focus is Japanese baseball, but he has also covered soccer, American football, boxing and basketball. He previously worked for the Marietta Daily Journal in Marietta, Ga. A native of Detroit, he is a graduate of the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
Japan's Shohei Ohtani carries the Japanese flag onto the field before the start of the World Baseball Classic final against the United States in Miami on March 21, 2023.
BASEBALL
May 15, 2025
Historian Rob Fitts discovers earliest ever reference to baseball in Japan
The widely held belief is that American Horace Wilson introduced the sport to Japan in 1872. Fitts' discovery revises the timeline to 1869.
The Giants' Kazuma Okamoto, seen during a game on April 16, suffered an elbow injury during a game against the Tigers on Tuesday at Tokyo Dome.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 6, 2025
Giants star Kazuma Okamoto expected to miss extended period with elbow injury
Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe told reporters Okamoto will miss a lot of time.
Tigers slugger Teruaki Sato knocks in a run during Hanshin's win over the Swallows at Koshien Stadium on Friday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 6, 2025
Confident Hanshin slugger Teruaki Sato taking game to next level
Even with everything Sato, a three-time All-Star, has already accomplished, his start this year has some wondering if he has finally put everything together.
Christophe Lemaire rides Admire Daytona, who was bred in Japan, during the UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on April 5.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
Apr 29, 2025
Could this be Japan’s year at the Kentucky Derby?
Japan has made great strides in thoroughbred racing, and many feel it is no longer a question of "if" a Japanese horse will win the event but "when."
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows' Munetaka Murakami bats during spring camp on March 14 in the city of Urasoe, Okinawa. Murakami returned from a spring injury on Thursday but was taken off the roster again the next day.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Apr 21, 2025
Munetaka Murakami's return cut short as Swallows’ struggles deepen
The Tokyo team’s star slugger returned on Thursday but was taken off the roster again the next day.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka attend a Lakers game in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2024.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 20, 2025
Shohei Ohtani announces birth of daughter
Ohtani announced the birth of his first child in a post on social media.
BayStars pitcher Andre Jackson throws during Game 1 of the Japan Series on Oct. 26 last year.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 16, 2025
Baystars pitcher Jackson 'honored' to wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day
The stars almost aligned perfectly on Tuesday night for the American, who pitched six strong innings on the day that the baseball world celebrates the Dodgers legend.
Giants fans cheer during an exhibition game against the Dodgers at Tokyo Dome on March 15.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Apr 14, 2025
NPB can learn from MLB amid backlash to its new social media policy
Arguing that the rights of NPB and its broadcasters are in peril because fans upload short videos from games is a hard sell.
Tony Blanco played in Japan for eight seasons and hit 181 home runs in NPB. The Dominican slugger was among more than 200 killed when the roof of a popular nightclub collapsed on Tuesday in the Dominican Republic.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 12, 2025
Tony Blanco remembered in Japan and Dominican Republic after nightclub tragedy
Blanco, who spent eight seasons in Japan with three NPB clubs, is remembered as a 'great guy' with a tremendous sense of humor.
Eagles rookie Rui Muneyama (center) poses with pitcher Takayuki Kishi (right) and infielder Hideto Asamura after a win in Sendai on April 3.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Apr 7, 2025
Rookie duo off to hot starts at plate in new NPB campaign
Seiya Watanabe and Rui Muneyama both have at least 10 hits so far this season.
Damar Hamlin poses with students at The American School in Japan in Chofu, western Tokyo, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Apr 1, 2025
NFL comeback star Damar Hamlin shares life-saving message in Tokyo
Hamlin’s comeback is bigger than football. It is also a vehicle for him to do something he has done his entire life — help others.
A clean-shaven Trey Cabbage poses during his introductory news conference with the Giants on Jan. 30 in Kawasaki.
BASEBALL / Sac Bunts
Mar 31, 2025
Giants' new players make strong first impression on opening weekend
A group of new faces helped the Kyojin sweep their season-opening series for the first time since 2012.
The Giants' Gakuto Wakabayashi (right) celebrates with Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe after his game-winning hit against the Swallows at Tokyo Dome on Friday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 28, 2025
Giants rally to beat Swallows in dramatic season opener
The Giants rallied from three-runs down in the ninth inning.
The Hawks' Ryoya Kurihara fields a ball during spring camp in Miyazaki on March 7.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 27, 2025
Incumbent Hawks face fresh challenge from rising Fighters in Pacific League
Flamboyant manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo and his up-and-coming Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters may finally be ready to pose a challenge for the favored Hawks.
Giants ace Shosei Togo is expected to get the start on opening day.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 26, 2025
Big-spending Giants aim to hold off BayStars and Tigers in competitive Central League
The Giants spent big as the club aims to win its first Japan Series title since 2012. But can the BayStars or Tigers spoil the Kyojin's fun?
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani was the most popular player during MLB's Tokyo Series.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 21, 2025
Tokyo Series generates company-record $40 million in sales for Fanatics
According to the company, over 200,000 fans shopped at the official MLB stores operated by Fanatics
Roki Sasaki throws the first pitch of his MLB career to open the Dodgers' game against the Cubs at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday.
BASEBALL
Mar 19, 2025
Shohei Ohtani homers to help Dodgers earn second straight win over Cubs
The Dodgers swept the two-game Tokyo Series.
Artifacts that will be part of the Yakyu Baseball / The Transpacific Exchange of the Game exhibition at the Baseball Hall of Fame are displayed at Tokyo Dome on Sunday.
BASEBALL
Mar 19, 2025
New Japanese baseball exhibit to open at Baseball Hall of Fame in July
Ichiro, who has visited the Hall of Fame eight times, expressed his support for the project.
Shohei Ohtani tips his batting helmet during the opening game of the MLB season between the Dodgers and Cubs on Tuesday at Tokyo Dome
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 19, 2025
At Tokyo Dome, a stage so big that even Shohei Ohtani felt nervous
Even the game's preeminent superstar admitted to feeling nervous as the MLB season kicked off with what amounted to a celebration of Japan and its place in the sport.
Shohei Ohtani runs home to score during the Dodgers' win over the Cubs in the MLB season opener at Tokyo Dome on Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 18, 2025
Shohei Ohtani and Dodgers get title defense off to winning start against Cubs
The Dodgers started the MLB season strong, defeating the Cubs 4-1 in the first of two Tokyo Series games. The matchup also celebrated the Japanese stars on both teams.
Transport ministry issues warning to Haneda Airport operator
The operator of Tokyo's Haneda Airport has been warned by the government over its inappropriate transactions.
Success of Chinese-made fighter jets against India raises alarm in Asia
Chinese J-10 fighter jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force August 1st Aerobatics Team perform during a media demonstration at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, in November 2015.
One month on, Osaka Expo urged to boost heat and crowd control measures
A gate to the Osaka Expo site is crowded with visitors on Monday.
Xi defiance pays off as Trump meets most China trade demands
Then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits a school in South Gate, California, in February 2012. Experts say Xi won big in his standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Sumo title contenders already emerging in early stages of Tokyo meet
Onosato (left) battles Abi on Day 3 of the Summer Basho in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Harmfully hot days for pregnant women in Japan nearly doubled over past five years
New research by a U.S. climate scientists’ group reveals that extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, nearly doubling the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women over the past five years.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.
Consumption tax set to dominate Upper House election debate
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Tuesday.

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