Transport authorities launched a full-fledged investigation Sunday into the derailment of a bullet train on the Akita Shinkansen Line in Daisen, Akita Prefecture, on Saturday afternoon.
It's a dangerous, unpredictable world. Twice in January Chinese warships in the East China Sea challenged Japan's Maritime Self Defense Forces patrols in a manner deemed threatening. And on Feb. 12 came North Korea's nuclear test.
Here's an open secret: Japanese men have a bad international reputation on the romance front.
SELLING WOMEN: Prostitution, Markets and the Household in Early Modern Japan, by Amy Stanley. University of California Press, 2012, 282 pp., $49.95 (hardcover) In the vast cultural landscape, Japan fascinates the mainstream with manga and anime, the martial arts, Zen and kimono. Of course, ...
Kenta Maeda shook off worries about his form with five shutout innings as Japan beat China 5-2 in first-round Pool A of the World Baseball Classic on Sunday at Fukuoka Dome. Japan improved to 2-0 following a tough win over Brazil in Saturday evening’s ...
Seattle Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki and Texas Rangers reliever Akinori Otsuka were the lone major leaguers on the roster when Japan won the 2006 World Baseball Classic. There were five MLB players on the team when Japan retained the title in 2009. Japan will ...
Japan manager Koji Yamamoto said his World Baseball Classic team would mirror previous Japan squads and be built around pitching and defense. An admirable ideal, if not for the small issue of his best pitcher not wanting to play. What’s more, the second or ...
Good luck beating these Giants next year. The new NPB champions had only been crowned for a few minutes Saturday when manager Tatsunori Hara proclaimed his team good enough to repeat. Japan Series MVP Tetsuya Utsumi agreed, and really, who could blame him? A ...
The Yomiuri Giants began the season by falling flat on their faces and languishing in the lower reaches of the standings for the first few weeks of the year. They battled back from that to win the Central League title, but quickly found themselves ...
After the season Shinnosuke Abe had, any other ending would’ve a felt a little empty. Abe led the Central League in batting, RBIs and on-base plus slugging percentage and finished second in home runs, all in addition to being easily the best defensive catcher ...
Shinnosuke Abe led the Yomiuri Giants to the Central League pennant, nearly won the Triple Crown, and will more than likely be named CL MVP in a few weeks. His final swing of the season? Just the hit that helped deliver another Japan Series ...
For a few tense seconds it looked like Ken Kato had been hit in the head by a pitch. As Kazuhito Tadano’s offering broke inside to the right-handed hitting Kato, squared up for a bunt attempt, the Yomiuri Giants catcher’s body twisted violently toward ...
John Bowker kept his torrid postseason run going, and Tetsuya Utsumi turned in another ace-worthy performance in game that was far more eventful than even the lopsided final score suggested. If the Yomiuri Giants can win another game, Bowker, Utsumi and Co. can bet ...
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager Hideki Kuriyama faced the type of decision that can decide championships during Game 4 of the Japan Series. His 24-year-old starter, Masaru Nakamura, was dealing in his Series debut and had been one of the driving forces behind keeping ...
Through out after out and missed opportunity after missed opportunity, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters’ resolve never wavered. When one final chance rolled around — more than four hours after the most important game of their season had begun — the Fighters were finally ...
