Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Baseball Topics
Japanese Baseball Sep 7, 2013
Buffaloes lose Okada, Kishida for season
The Pacific League’s Orix Buffaloes will likely be without 2010 home run champion Takahiro Okada for the remainder of the season, sources said Saturday. The left-handed-hitting Okada has been on the farm team suffering from a ligament injury on the middle finger of his ...
Japanese Baseball Sep 7, 2013
Tigers outfielder Hiyama announces plan to retire
Hanshin Tigers outfielder Shinjiro Hiyama, a 22-year veteran who ranks second in the Central League in career pinch hits, said Saturday this will be his final season. The 44-year-old, who entered play on Saturday with a career .260 batting average over 1,945 games, has ...
Japanese Baseball Sep 6, 2013
Tanaka tosses complete-game victory, raises record to 20-0
Masahiro Tanaka equaled the mark for Japan’s longest winning streak within a single season as he improved to 20-0 on Friday in the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles’ 3-2 win over the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. The 24-year-old Eagles ace has won 24 consecutive decisions ...
Japanese Baseball Sep 6, 2013
Bass says Balentien won't get easy path to Oh's record
by Jason Coskrey
When Randy Bass hit his 54th home run of the year, he thought he would have a decent shot at the Japan single-season record. With two games remaining in the 1985 season — both against the Yomiuri Giants — Bass needed two home runs ...
Japanese Baseball Sep 6, 2013
Hawks' Senga sidelined with muscle strain
Fukuoka Softbank Hawks rookie Kodai Senga has been diagnosed with a muscle strain that will sideline him for several weeks, the Pacific League club said Friday. Senga, who took part in this summer’s All-Star series, was the fifth of 10 Hawks pitchers used in ...
Japanese Baseball Sep 6, 2013
Tanaka breaks Ichiro's mark for monthly MVP honors
Record-setting right-hander Masahiro Tanaka was named the Pacific League’s August pitcher of the month on Friday, becoming the first player to receive four consecutive monthly MVP awards. By winning for the 11th time, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles star surpassed current New York Yankees ...
Japanese Baseball Sep 5, 2013
Obiki, Fighters clobber Hawks
by Jason Coskrey
Keiji Obiki helped erase a four-run deficit with a come-from-behind grand slam in the second inning, and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters went on to rout the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks 11-5 on Thursday night at Tokyo Dome. The Fighters were behind 4-1 in the ...
Japanese Baseball Sep 5, 2013
Swallows first baseman Hatakeyama sidelined with torn oblique muscle
The injury-plagued Tokyo Yakult Swallows suffered another blow on Thursday, when first baseman Kazuhiro Hatakeyama was diagnosed with an injury that may cause him to miss the rest of the regular season. Hatakeyama, who was hurt during fielding practice on Tuesday, was diagnosed with ...
Japanese Baseball Sep 4, 2013
Maeda dominant in win over Dragons
Hiroshima ace Kenta Maeda continued to have the Chunichi Dragons’ number on Wednesday, going eight innings in the Carp’s 2-0 victory over their closest Central League rivals. Maeda (12-5) allowed five hits and two walks, while striking out six. He improved to 3-0 against ...
Japanese Baseball Sep 3, 2013
First-place Eagles rally past Lions
A trio of former big leaguers led the Pacific League-leading Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to a come-from-behind, 4-3 victory over the Seibu Lions on Tuesday. Andruw Jones trimmed the deficit to 3-1, when he led off the fifth inning with his 20th home run. ...
Japanese Baseball Sep 2, 2013
Oh supports baseball, softball for 2020 Games
Although the momentum appears to be swinging in favor of wrestling for reinstatement to the 2020 Summer Olympics, one legend of baseball has his own agenda in mind — Sadaharu Oh wants baseball and softball to return to the Olympics. Unfortunately for the world ...
Japanese Baseball Sep 2, 2013
Commissioner Kato denies Balentien's homers related to altered ball
Embattled Nippon Professional Baseball commissioner Ryozo Kato says the baseball secretly altered by the Japanese league this season has nothing to do with the record-chasing 52 home runs hit by Tokyo Yakult Swallows outfielder Wladimir Balentien. “I doubt the ball really has anything to ...