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June 05, 2025
 

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BASEBALL

Japanese Baseball

MLB
Japanese Baseball
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
Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima dies at 89
Long before the rise of Shohei Ohtani and Ichiro Suzuki, Nagashima was arguably the most famous player in Japanese baseball history.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
What you need to know ahead of NPB interleague play resuming
Since 2005, one constant has been Pa League dominance.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Fighters already showing last season's playoff run was no fluke
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.
Trey Cabbage celebrates after hitting a home run at Tokyo Dome on May 1.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 19, 2025
Giants' Trey Cabbage not weighed down by pressure to replace Kazuma Okamoto
By Jason Coskrey
Cabbage has taken the majority of the at-bats in the cleanup spot since Okamoto suffered an elbow injury on May 6.
The Giants' Kazuma Okamoto, seen during a game on April 16, suffered an elbow injury during a game against the Tigers on Tuesday at Tokyo Dome.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 6, 2025
Giants star Kazuma Okamoto expected to miss extended period with elbow injury
By Jason Coskrey
Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe told reporters Okamoto will miss a lot of time.
Tigers slugger Teruaki Sato knocks in a run during Hanshin's win over the Swallows at Koshien Stadium on Friday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 6, 2025
Confident Hanshin slugger Teruaki Sato taking game to next level
By Jason Coskrey
Even with everything Sato, a three-time All-Star, has already accomplished, his start this year has some wondering if he has finally put everything together.
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows' Munetaka Murakami bats during spring camp on March 14 in the city of Urasoe, Okinawa. Murakami returned from a spring injury on Thursday but was taken off the roster again the next day.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Apr 21, 2025
Munetaka Murakami's return cut short as Swallows’ struggles deepen
By Jason Coskrey
The Tokyo team’s star slugger returned on Thursday but was taken off the roster again the next day.
BayStars pitcher Andre Jackson throws during Game 1 of the Japan Series on Oct. 26 last year.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 16, 2025
Baystars pitcher Jackson 'honored' to wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day
By Jason Coskrey
The stars almost aligned perfectly on Tuesday night for the American, who pitched six strong innings on the day that the baseball world celebrates the Dodgers legend.
Giants fans cheer during an exhibition game against the Dodgers at Tokyo Dome on March 15.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Apr 14, 2025
NPB can learn from MLB amid backlash to its new social media policy
By Jason Coskrey
Arguing that the rights of NPB and its broadcasters are in peril because fans upload short videos from games is a hard sell.
Tony Blanco played in Japan for eight seasons and hit 181 home runs in NPB. The Dominican slugger was among more than 200 killed when the roof of a popular nightclub collapsed on Tuesday in the Dominican Republic.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 12, 2025
Tony Blanco remembered in Japan and Dominican Republic after nightclub tragedy
By Jason Coskrey
Blanco, who spent eight seasons in Japan with three NPB clubs, is remembered as a 'great guy' with a tremendous sense of humor.

How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
Toyota Industries receives $33 billion buyout offer from group companies
Toyota group companies could establish a new holding company to privatize Toyota Industries.
Japan’s fertility rate hits record low despite government push
The total number of births dropped to about 686,000, marking the first time the figure has fallen below 700,000, according to a health ministry release on Wednesday.
South Korea’s Lee pledges to heal deep wounds as ‘president for everyone’
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung waves with his his wife, Kim Hye-gyeong, following his inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday.
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima dies at 89
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.
‘A garden is a grand teacher’: The Kamakura Gardener nurtures via YouTube
American Robert Jefferson runs a YouTube channel called The Kamakura Gardener that invites viewers to enjoy the pleasures of gardening, cooking and slow living.
Waves of umami: Awaji Island's culinary trove
Silversea Cruises' culinary program takes guests on a rich gourmet experience at wellness retreat Zenbo Seinei, where the local produce is presented in an eight-course meal.
Hegseth to prioritize China and more allied spending in Asia — but questions remain
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives for a trilateral meeting between Japan, the U.S. and Australia at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.

Podcast

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

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
By Alex K.T. Martin

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