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 | SPORTS SCOPE Jun 14, 2013
Lack of transparency on ball changes causes NPB grief
by Jason Coskrey
Nippon Professional Baseball did not err when it introduced a standardized baseball two seasons ago. The change was needed. The league was also right to alter that ball after players noticed the game had changed too much. That was a problem, and NPB fixed ...
Baseball | SPORTS SCOPE Jun 12, 2013
Once a young phenom, Matsui now a veteran leader for upstart Eagles
by Jason Coskrey
The plays aren’t as flashy or spectacular as they used to be, but Kazuo Matsui still makes them. His 37-year-old body doesn’t move the way it did when he was younger, but the former Pacific League MVP still does enough to warrant his place ...
Baseball | SPORTS SCOPE May 28, 2013
Carp offense not doing Bullington any favors
by Jason Coskrey
One of the more memorable marketing campaigns of the 1990s was a Nike ad centered around Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, at the time a pair of Cy Young winners pitching for the Atlanta Braves, who, jealous of the attention St. Louis Cardinals slugger ...
Baseball | SPORTS SCOPE May 24, 2013
Fighters rookie Otani makes solid impression in mound debut
by Jason Coskrey
As far as debuts go, Shohei Otani's delivered. The celebrated rookie pitched fairly well on Thursday night, and though he finished outside the decision, he left the mound with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters well within striking distance of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
Sports | SPORTS SCOPE May 22, 2013
Flawed strategy, mistakes jeopardizing Tokyo's bid to host 2020 Olympics
by Jack Gallagher
Have you ever given your best effort while striving to achieve something but felt like what you were doing was futile? That’s the feeling I’m getting about Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics. With just over three months to go until the IOC ...
Baseball | SPORTS SCOPE May 21, 2013
Abe continues to be steadying force for Giants
by Jason Coskrey
The Yomiuri Giants have won the last 37 times Shinnosuke Abe has homered at Tokyo Dome. That’s an impressive streak, even if it is aided by a number of circumstances, not least of which the fact the Kyojin are normally very good at home. ...
Baseball | SPORTS SCOPE May 14, 2013
Interleague schedule will pit PL hurlers against Blanco
by Jason Coskrey
On a bright day earlier this season, Tony Blanco wrapped up batting practice and headed back to the Yokohama BayStars clubhouse after sending a litany of balls all over — and a few out of — Yokohama Stadium. On the way he was greeted ...
Baseball | SPORTS SCOPE Apr 30, 2013
Lions counting on Kikuchi to begin living up to potential
by Jason Coskrey
Everything was working for Yusei Kikuchi Sunday afternoon. With Golden Week having gotten under way, Kikuchi put on a show for the season-high crowd of 28,930 that filed into Seibu Dome and saw the Lions deliver a 15-1 mauling of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden ...
Baseball | SPORTS SCOPE Apr 23, 2013
Early trouble will test Golden Eagles' mettle
by Jason Coskrey
The grind of a 144-game season will usually, over time, weed out the pretenders from the contenders, often with ruthless precision. While any baseball season is littered with peaks and valleys, some extremes being higher or lower than others, there are usually signs throughout ...
Baseball | SPORTS SCOPE Apr 16, 2013
Taking cues from soccer could help baseball reach goal
by Jason Coskrey
Judging by popular opinion, many seem to think convincing MLB to commit to sending its top players to the Olympics is the key to getting the sport back into the program in the future, preferably in time for the 2020 Games. Well, that’s not ...
NBA | SPORTS SCOPE Apr 10, 2013
King's election richly deserved, but long overdue
by Jack Gallagher
It was nothing short of a travesty that basketball great Bernard King was passed over by Hall of Fame voters on five previous occasions.
Baseball | SPORTS SCOPE Apr 2, 2013
Bar set high for rookie stars Sugano, Otani
by Jason Coskrey
The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters have spent a first-round draft pick on the top pitching prospect in Japan in each of the last two years, and in both instances that player has initially said thanks, but no thanks. For Tomoyuki Sugano the allure of ...