BASEBALL

Japanese Baseball

Former Orix Buffaloes pitcher Alessandro Maestri during an online interview on Feb. 18
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 4, 2024
Ex-Buffalo Maestri guides younger players in Japan return
Maestri is hopeful that nsome players he is coaching will also find their way to pro baseball in Japan.
When Fighters interpreter Shinju Sakuma set her mind on becoming a language liaison in sports, she picked a sport she enjoyed watching and an employer who thinks outside the box.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 26, 2024
Rookie female interpreter provides voice for foreign baseball stars in Japan
Shinju Sakuma, who will graduate from Rikkyo University in Tokyo this spring, is believed to be the first female interpreter in NPB history.
Former Giants star Hideki Matsui watches Yuto Akihiro take batting practice at the team's spring camp in Miyazaki on Saturday.
Giants' new Godzilla Yuto Akihiro taps into Hideki Matsui's teachings to level up
Akihiro is the latest player to try and walk in Matsui's footsteps.
Outfielder Yutaro Sugimoto (center, right) and other members of the Buffaloes move through a huge crowd of fans in Miyazaki on Sunday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 14, 2024
Buffaloes drawing record camp crowd amid recent run of success
The Pacific League club is also holding joint fundraising activities with the Zweigen Kanazawa soccer club to support quake-hit Ishikawa.
Swallows slugger Munetaka Murakami takes a swing during batting practice earlier this month.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 11, 2024
Swallows' Murakami aims for second Triple Crown and team rebound
The young slugger struggled last year and the Swallows followed suit by sinking to fifth place in the Central League.
The Marines' Roki Sasaki pitches in the bullpen during spring camp in Okinawa on Thursday.
Roki Sasaki gets back to business after weeks of speculation about future
After weeks of rampant rumors, the "Monster of the Reiwa Era" is back to the business of baseball, and the MLB questions are back on the shelf for now.
Marines ace Roki Sasaki speaks during a news conference in Chiba on Saturday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 27, 2024
Marines and ace Sasaki deny discord over MLB ambitions
The 22-year-old agreed to terms Friday on his contract with Lotte for the upcoming season, just six days before the start of spring training.

Longform

High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?