The Toshiba Brave Thunders announced the retirements of two of their veteran players, guard Takuya Kita and forward Yuki Orihara, on Friday. Kita, the 35-year-old former Japan national, joined the Kawasaki-based team in 1995. He was chosen for the JBL’s first team five times, selected the regular-season MVP for 1998-99 and led his team to JBL championships in the 1998-99 and 2004-05 campaigns. Toshiba also announced that Mitsunori Kamata stepped down as head coach and Teruaki Tanaka, who has been an assistant coach for the team since 2004, will replace him.
Politics & Diplomacy
Hashimoto to retract sex suggestion for U.S. military
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto aims to retract his remark that U.S. servicemen in Okinawa should use its adult entertainment industry to avoid committing sex offenses.