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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.
The Hanshin Tigers are so far ahead in the Central League standings the Japanese media has already given them a magic number. The Kansai club has rolled through the first half of the season, mauling anything and everything in their path en route to ...
Yomiuri Giants star Alex Ramirez hit a home run in his first official at-bat as a visitor in Jingu Stadium, home of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. That shot has proven to be a harbinger of things to come. Of the many big names to ...
The Hanshin Tigers missed out on the interleague title, but they’re still on track for the one that matters. Nippon Professional Baseball resumed its regular schedule on Friday and the Tigers have to be feeling pretty good about themselves. Hanshin had a great run ...
Tsuyoshi Wada was pitching a complete game against the Yokohama BayStars on Sunday and there wasn’t anything anyone could do about it. Not Fukuoka Softbank Hawks pitching coach Tadashi Sugimoto and not the BayStars. “You have 35 pitches left today,” was the message Wada ...
Alex Ramirez hit home runs in consecutive at-bats during last year’s All-Star series, which sparked an amazing late season performance, during which he won back-to-back monthly MVP awards in August and September. He’s gotten things going a little earlier this year. Just one week ...
There’s just something about May that brings out the best in Toshiya Sugiuchi. After a slow start to the season, the Softbank pitcher enjoyed a renaissance in May, putting the finishing touches on one of the best months Japanese baseball has seen in a ...
If there’s a job to be done, chances are Brian Sweeney is your man. Sweeney has almost done it all on the mound for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters this season. He’s started, relieved and even has an emergency start to his credit. To ...
Hisashi Iwakuma seems to have finally arrived for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Iwakuma is in his fourth-year with the club and after a substandard 2005 followed by a pair of injury-plagued seasons, he has regained the form that twice made him a 15-game ...
For Hanshin Tigers pitcher Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi, the last two seasons have been more or less average. The cagey veteran, who was 10-8 last season and 12-11 in 2006, posted double-digit wins in each of those years but was a long way away from regaining ...
While the Yomiuri Giants’ All-Stars have gotten off to a slow start this season, two unheralded players have stolen the spotlight. Seldom-used outfielder Yoshiyuki Kamei and shortstop Hayato Sakamoto have been two of the bright spots for the Giants throughout an otherwise forgettable start ...