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The head of an official inquiry into the deadly collapse of a Bangladesh factory complex said the building’s owner was the “main culprit” for the disaster because he violated construction codes. The cave-in of the eight-story Rana Plaza outside the capital last month killed ...
Throughout most of Japan, June is the rainy season. While all that rainfall is great for rice paddies so that we can have delicious new harvest rice in the fall, it makes it a rather dull month for seasonal produce: The summer’s bounty of ...
“I was stopped by two men in a government-registered vehicle, blindfolded and dragged off the street. They took me away to a house in a place I did not know. I was forced into a room with blood all over the walls and floor, ...
Claude Regy says the team at the Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC) threw him the “best birthday party ever” when he arrived in Japan just days after the actual May 1 occasion. The 90-year-old French director is hoping for an even better birthday gift, ...
As far as debuts go, Shohei Otani's delivered. The celebrated rookie pitched fairly well on Thursday night, and though he finished outside the decision, he left the mound with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters well within striking distance of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
One of baseball’s most colorful and controversial figures is looking to make a comeback as a player at age 46, and his agent thinks Japan might be the place where Jose Canseco can resume his checkered career. Nello Gamberdino, based in Chicago, represents the ...
The 2011 season is going to be a crucial one for the Japanese players on major league — or minor league — rosters in the U.S. For some, it could be the final chance to achieve stardom in the Big Show; for others it ...
A fan in the U.S. asked me the other day, “When do the pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Japan?” In North America, the major league teams begin official workouts for battery players in the middle of February, while infielders and outfielders ...
When Hiromitsu Ochiai is inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame this coming summer, it will be a very convenient situation. As manager of the defending Central League champion Chunichi Dragons, Ochiai will also pilot the 2011 CL All-Star team, and the HOF ...
The Yomiuri Giants announced Dec. 24 the signing of former Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Rusty Ryal, son of Mark Ryal who played in 1991 and 1992 with the Chunichi Dragons. On Jan. 8, the Giants also signed pitcher Brian Bannister, a five-year major league veteran ...
It is sad and somewhat lonely not seeing the “Larry King Live” program on CNN. The 77-year-old suspendered one retired at the end of 2010 after 25 years and thousands of interviews on what was arguably the most well known talk show on TV; ...
Every year, Japanese baseball produces some great stories, and some not-so-wonderful ones. During this last week of 2010, let’s take a final look back at some of the good and bad events that occurred over the past 12 months. For me, one of the ...
If you ever get to Fukuoka, during the baseball season or in the winter, be sure to go to Yahoo Dome and pay a visit to the Sadaharu Oh Museum. Opened in July of this year, it is a tribute to baseball’s all-time home ...
Flash back to 2007. One-third of the teams in Japanese pro baseball (including half the Pacific League clubs) had American managers. There was Marty Brown with the Hiroshima Carp, Terry Collins leading the Orix Buffaloes, Trey Hillman guiding the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and ...
There has been a lot of cross-traffic in recent days with players switching from one Japanese team to another or heading for the majors. One question yet to be answered, though, is: Where will Alex Cabrera play in 2011? Despite his being recently selected ...
You no doubt saw the news item whereby the Nippon Professional Baseball authorities are asking the Japanese players union to have a third All-Star game in 2011, in order to blot a portion of its reported ¥60 million of red ink. Two All-Star games ...
The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles may be losing their best pitcher, but the posting money the Pacific League club may receive from the Oakland Athletics for the rights to negotiate with ace right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma would give them a lot of pocket money to ...