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August 14, 2025
 

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BASEBALL

Japanese Baseball

MLB
Japanese Baseball
Masakazu Hori, the principal of Koryo High School in Hiroshima Prefecture, speaks to reporters in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on Sunday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Hiroshima school exits Summer Koshien tournament over bullying
An outcry over alleged violence earlier this year within the Koryo High School baseball team had prompted calls on social media for their withdrawal from the tournament.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Central League votes to adopt designated hitter rule from 2027
The change means NPB’s two leagues will operate under the same set of rules for the first time since the Pacific League adopted the designated hitter in 1975.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Return of Munetaka Murakami could get hearts racing at Jingu Stadium again
The Swallows have not been good this year but have a chance to end the season on a positive note.
Tigers pitcher Jon Duplantier eats <i>umeboshi</i> pickled plums to replenish sodium.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jul 23, 2025
NPB teams trying to fight off Japan's torrid summer heat
On June 27, Seibu Lions pitcher Tatsuya Imai was replaced after suffering heatstroke while pitching during a game held at the team's Belluna Dome.
The BayStars' Trevor Bauer pitches during a game at Jingu Stadium in May.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 29, 2025
BayStars' Trevor Bauer dejected and searching for answers as slump continues
By Jason Coskrey
Bauer has lost four straight decisions and allowed 19 runs in his last 20⅓ innings. 
The Fighters' Ryota Isobata reacts after a hit during a game against the DeNA BayStars in Yokohama on Saturday. The Fighters had announced a policy of allowing spectators to post videos and photos to social media at games, but backtracked after opposition from NPB.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 10, 2025
Japan's baseball world divided on fans' social media use
NPB introduced a ban in February on posting photos and videos of players on the field during play to social media sites.
Shigeo Nagashima (left), then the manager of the Tokyo Giants, waves to fans with players and coaches during a victory parade in central Tokyo in 2000. Nagashima died at the age of 89 on Tuesday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 3, 2025
Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima dies at 89
By Jason Coskrey
Long before the rise of Shohei Ohtani and Ichiro Suzuki, Nagashima was arguably the most famous player in Japanese baseball history.
The Fighters' Franmil Reyes celebrates after hitting a walk-off home run against the Marines on Sunday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 3, 2025
What you need to know ahead of NPB interleague play resuming
By Jason Coskrey
Since 2005, one constant has been Pa League dominance.
Fighters starter Hiromi Ito pitches against the Hawks in Fukuoka on April 29.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
May 26, 2025
Fighters already showing last season's playoff run was no fluke
By Jason Coskrey
Nippon Ham manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo has dialed back his antics lately, and perhaps with good reason — because it looks like the players are ready to take center stage.
Carp pitcher Hiroki Tokoda has seven hits this season, including a double.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
May 20, 2025
Can the Central League hold out against designated hitters?
By Jason Coskrey
There have been plenty of calls for the league to adopt the DH over the years. But some prefer the status quo.

Britain’s Prince of Wales aircraft carrier makes Japan debut
HMS Prince of Wales arrives into the Port of Darwin, Australia, in July during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025.
Japanese students who want to study abroad looking at options in Asia
The number of Japanese students who applied to the National Taiwan University in Taipei in 2025 is more than 60% higher than last year due partly to affordability and proximity.
Controversial theories continue to swirl around 1985 JAL jet crash
Kimi Ozawa, who lost her husband in the 1985 crash of a Japan Airlines jumbo jet, prays in front of his memorial marker on Tuesday in the village of Ueno, Gunma Prefecture.
The indelible memory of being a part of Unit 731
Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
Taiwanese drama 'Zero Day Attack' on Chinese invasion to stream in Japan
A scene from the Taiwanese television drama "Zero Day Attack," which will stream in Japan from Friday.
Osaka Expo highlights the challenge of holding events in Japan's scorching summer
People huddle near a large fan blowing icy-cold mist at the Osaka Expo on July 12. Amid Japan's relentless summer heat, organizes have put myriad measures in place in order to keep guests safe.
At Himawari Shokudo 2, Italian food with a Japanese soul
At Himawari Shokudo 2, chef Hozumi Tanaka serves Italian-inspired fare with a focus on Toyama produce, such as this appetizer of lightly blanched "hotaru ika" (firefly squid) served atop mixed wild plants and a crepe prepared from "yamato-imo" yam.
Cheer with caution: Expert advises sports fans have game plan for extreme heat
A Cardinals fan fans himself during the seventh inning of a game against the Pirates in St. Louis, Missouri, in June 2022.
Australia's warship selection signals Japanese defense industry's arrival
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami-class frigate. Australia's selection of an upgraded version of the Mogami-class warship for its next frigate class could prove to be a watershed moment for Japan’s defense industry.
Japan's inheritance tax is high, unforgiving and sometimes avoidable
The National Tax Agency at the Ministry of Finance, Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. Japanese tax authorities can bill foreign residents in Japan for assets inherited globally.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person
By Naoko Abe

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