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P/SUNNY
Is it a sign of a full-fledged economic recovery or a looming catastrophe in the monetary making? Recent spikes in Japan’s long-term interest rate, represented by the 10-year government bond, have created a stir and roused a deep sense of alarm among investors and ...
Tonkatsu is comfort food, gourmand grub — not a gourmet delicacy. So what are those hearty, unpretentious deep-fried breaded pork cutlets doing in an elegant little bar-style restaurant above one of Ginza’s temples to high-end consumption? Katsuzen has come a long way from its ...
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 ...
Disgusted by corrupt local leaders, an angry miner picks up a shotgun. A migrant worker returning home looks to armed robbery to escape a life of relentless bleakness. A pretty receptionist at a sauna is driven to the limit when a gangster tries to ...
David Beckham, whose curling free kicks, rugged good looks and celebrity marriage made him one of the most famous athletes in the world, is retiring from soccer. Whether striding on the grass, the red carpet or the fashion catwalks, Beckham transcended his sport and ...
He wasn’t the best foreigner to ever play in Japanese baseball, but Brad “The Animal” Lesley was surely one of the most colorful and unforgettable characters to ever put on the uniform of a Central or Pacific League team. The news of his death ...
What do you make of the idea to have the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers open the 2014 Japanese baseball season in the U.S.? The tour is reportedly in the works and an official announcement should be coming sometime during May. Preliminary plans call ...
In response to my column of March 17, a couple of readers have come in with suggestions on how to pick up the notoriously slow pace of Japanese baseball games. From the Bay Area, fan Mike Colegate sent the following e-mail. I know that ...
Happy days are here again — or so it would appear — for the hitters in Japanese baseball. The ball is flying once more, as shown by the number of home runs being hit in the early going this season. No one is saying ...
Will the Saitama Seibu Lions be sold? I surely hope not. Despite the problems of its parent company, the franchise has had a colorful 34-year history, and I would like to see it continue. Apparently, former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle feels the same ...
The third World Baseball Classic is now history, and congratulations to the Dominican Republic on the victory. The WBC has gotten better each time, I believe, and it has become an excellent showcase for the game on a worldwide basis, especially since baseball was ...
The March 7 decision by Japanese baseball’s executive committee to drop the 3½-hour time limit on extra-inning games came as welcome news. We have observed the second anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, the subsequent tsunami and nuclear power ...
No doubt the Hanshin Tigers are the more popular of the two Japanese professional baseball teams in the Kansai area. Their games at historic Koshien Stadium between Osaka and Kobe draw packed crowds most of the time, and the fans are arguably the most ...
While Japan and the rest of the baseball universe are deep in the World Baseball Classic fever, the conventional major league and Japanese teams are going about their business getting ready for their respective April 1 and March 29 opening days. In the U.S., ...
Recall our column from last summer pointing out how there are very few catchers in Japanese baseball who can hit? One of the suggestions I made to hopefully improve the situation was for the Japanese teams to see if they can find a halfway ...
It’s time once again to gear up for the World Baseball Classic. The Samurai Japan team was to play its first WBC tuneup game on Sunday against the Hiroshima Carp at Sun Marine Stadium in Miyazaki. This will be followed by another warmup against ...
Kudos to Masanori Murakami, the first Japanese player in the major leagues, on his recent appointment as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. “Mashi” is highly qualified to take the leadership role in supporting charities and, having been acquainted ...