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P/SUNNY
Is it a sign of a full-fledged economic recovery or a looming catastrophe in the monetary making? Recent spikes in Japan’s long-term interest rate, represented by the 10-year government bond, have created a stir and roused a deep sense of alarm among investors and ...
Tonkatsu is comfort food, gourmand grub — not a gourmet delicacy. So what are those hearty, unpretentious deep-fried breaded pork cutlets doing in an elegant little bar-style restaurant above one of Ginza’s temples to high-end consumption? Katsuzen has come a long way from its ...
Life in Japan just seems tailor-made for certain foreign residents, who slip into the fabric of this society as smoothly as a hand slides into a glove. American Curtis Patterson, a professional koto player and music teacher, is a case in point. Not only ...
Disgusted by corrupt local leaders, an angry miner picks up a shotgun. A migrant worker returning home looks to armed robbery to escape a life of relentless bleakness. A pretty receptionist at a sauna is driven to the limit when a gangster tries to ...
David Beckham, whose curling free kicks, rugged good looks and celebrity marriage made him one of the most famous athletes in the world, is retiring from soccer. Whether striding on the grass, the red carpet or the fashion catwalks, Beckham transcended his sport and ...
The Miyazaki Shining Suns, who have a league-worst 5-31 record, and the Eastern Conference-leading Yokohama B-Corsairs (25-9) are on shaky financial ground, multiple sources claim in recent comments to The Japan Times. In the words of one source who spoke on condition of anonymity, ...
Like any first-year pro, Yuki Togashi must cope with the ups and downs of his new job. With only four games as a measuring stick, the Akita Northern Happinets guard has shown lots of potential. He has scored in double figures each time out ...
Eight straight victories is an impressive feat in any pro sports league. Riding an eight-game winning streak, the Chiba Jets are unbeaten in 2013. Their last eight victories have not come against elite teams; in fact, those teams are a combined 21-67 through Sunday. ...
Finalizing a schedule for a league with an uneven number of teams creates real challenges. For example, the 21-team circuit must always have one squad with a bye week to make the schedule work. Other times that number may be three, but rarely five ...
Shimane Susanoo Magic big man Jeral Davis, whose non-selection for the Western Conference All-Star team was a stunning omission, is having another splendid season for coach Zeljko Pavlicevic’s team. The product of little-known Talladega State in Alabama, is well on his way to his ...
Like every midseason showcase, the 1997 NBA All-Star Weekend in Cleveland was a marquee event, not only for its collection of active players — Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, et al — but also for the much-planned celebration of the league’s storied history. ...
In 10-game increments, you can get a pretty good measure of how a team is playing during the long, 52-game bj-league regular season. Everyone will agree that the Yokohama B-Corsairs’ 9-1 record over their past 10 games is impressive, whereas as the Oita HeatDevils’ ...
Sure, there are others who can call Jim Boeheim a mentor or a source of inspiration. In the bj-league, only Gunma Crane Thunders coach Ryan Blackwell can really make that claim. Blackwell, after all, played for the Syracuse University men’s basketball bench boss from ...
The Tokyo Cinq Reves have taken their fair share of bumps and bruises during their inaugural season, but coach Motofumi Aoki is guiding the team in the right direction. With an 8-12 record to date, the Cinq Reves (French for “five dreams”) are within ...
Before the Ryukyu Golden Kings ever played a game and before Okinawa proved to be a terrific location for a Japanese professional basketball team, Cohey Aoki had already established himself as a fan favorite in the bj-league. The league’s first-ever All-Star Game, held in ...
The Ryukyu Golden Kings, not unlike a well-oiled machine, are the best squad in the league. And this week we examine how they stack up with the other nine teams in the Western Conference over the past 10 games, or roughly one-fifth of the ...
Takatoshi “Big Bashi” Ishibashi served as the Shinshu Brave Warriors’ capable assistant coach during the team’s inaugural season under Motofumi Aoki, the 2006-07 bj-league Coach of the Year. And as expected, the Brave Warriors had an up-and-down 2011-12 season — 18 victories and 34 ...