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September 04, 2025
 

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BASEBALL

Japanese Baseball

MLB
Japanese Baseball
Japan's Shohei Ohtani delivers a pitch against the USA during the World Baseball Classic final at LoanDepot Park in Miami on March 21, 2023.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Baseball-hungry Netflix to carry World Baseball Classic in Japan
The news comes as Netflix is reportedly on the verge of entering the MLB fray by picking up the U.S. rights for the Home Run Derby
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Masahiro Tanaka still two giant steps away from Meikyukai
The Giants pitcher's pursuit of 200 career victories between NPB and MLB remains stuck at 198.
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.
Swallows slugger Munetaka Murakami celebrates after hitting a home run against the BayStars in Yokohama on July 29.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Aug 4, 2025
Return of Munetaka Murakami could get hearts racing at Jingu Stadium again
By Jason Coskrey
The Swallows have not been good this year but have a chance to end the season on a positive note.
“Yakyu / Baseball: The Transpacific Exchange of the Game” is set to remain on display in Cooperstown for at least five to 10 years — and possibly indefinitely.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jul 29, 2025
Behind the scenes at the Baseball Hall of Fame's new Yakyu/Baseball exhibit
By Joshua Mellin
The exhibit tells a sweeping, richly visual story about the deep and evolving connection between Japan and America’s shared national pastime.
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.

Surrounded by Chinese bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm
A Philippine Navy sailor looks at a China Coast Guard vessel just off the coast of Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea last month.
Anger in Japan after Instagrammer drinks burial site offering
Foreign tourists visit a park near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in August.
Musk voices support for anti-immigration rally in Japan
Elon Musk has voiced support for anti-immigration protest in Japan, where a "Japanese First" party saw gains in recent elections.
Suntory CEO Takeshi Niinami resigns over alleged possession of illegal drugs
Takeshi Niinami, then-chief executive officer of Suntory Holdings, in May 2024
‘Mount Fuji Lawson’ becomes a symbol of Japan’s overtourism problem
A couple poses for a wedding photo in front of a Lawson in the town of Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 25.
Xi — joined by Kim and Putin — delivers stark warning at military parade
Chinese leader Xi Jinping walks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing on Wednesday.
Tamagotchi hatches 100 million shipments worldwide thanks to ’90s nostalgia
The latest version of Tamagotchi, called Tamagotchi Paradise, is awarded the best digital toy at Tokyo Toy Show on Aug. 28.
Why Stalin didn’t invade Hokkaido still largely unknown, 80 years after WWII
During a survey to collect the remains of victims from the Taito Maru, one of the vessels involved in the Three Ships Incident, a metal helmet was found near the stern of the vessel on Aug. 5, 1984, at Rumoi Port. No human remains were discovered.
More sweltering days forecast for September after hottest summer on record
By the end of August, 8,341 people had been transported by ambulance for heatstroke in Tokyo alone.
Surrounded by Chinese bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm
A Philippine Navy sailor looks at a China Coast Guard vessel just off the coast of Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea last month.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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