author

 
Menu
Search
 
May 06, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Kaz Nagatsuka

Meta

Twitter

@kaznagatsuka

Kaz Nagatsuka
Kaz Nagatsuka is a staff writer covering Japanese sports, including Japanese professional baseball, basketball, American football and individual sports. He has covered big sporting events such as the World Baseball Classic, the NFL Super Bowl and soccer's World Cup.
For Kaz Nagatsuka's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Apr 15, 2021
Rikako Ikee's already exhilarating comeback from leukemia just getting started
The return of the nation's swimming queen has been one of the biggest feel-good stories in Japanese sports this year.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Apr 14, 2021
B. League to expand top division to 24 clubs from 2022-23 season
Japan's pro men's circuit said it would continue promoting teams to the B1 in order to reduce the continued financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Apr 12, 2021
Japan names swimming team for Tokyo Olympics
While the squad features a number of fresh faces, there are also veterans who have already achieved global success, such as Daiya Seto, Kosuke Hagino and Ryosuke Irie.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Apr 10, 2021
Kosuke Hagino finds right lane as Tokyo Olympics draw closer
Kosuke Hagino will be making his third trip to the Olympics this summer, but he'll be a different swimmer in Tokyo than he was in either London or Rio de Janeiro.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Apr 8, 2021
Rising star Shoma Sato swimming toward Olympic spotlight
Sato touched the wall on Wednesday in 2 minutes, 6.40 seconds, a national record that is second only to the world record of 2 minutes, 6.12 seconds.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Apr 6, 2021
Katsuhiro Matsumoto gunning for gold after earning first Olympic spot
The 24-year-old matched Sun Yang's winning 200-meter freestyle time at Rio 2016 during Monday's national championships and promised to lower his time even further before the Tokyo Games.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Apr 5, 2021
Rikako Ikee adds Tokyo Olympic berth to emotional comeback story
The 20-year-old swimming star, who is recovering from leukemia, punched her ticket to the games by winning the 100-meter butterfly final at the national championships on Sunday.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Apr 3, 2021
B. League clubs placing more emphasis on early development
The idea of starting that development from a young age is one that has been rapidly spreading around the B. League over the last several years.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Apr 1, 2021
Teenager Shawn Williams determined to follow Hachimura's path to NBA
Williams was among the players who turned heads during the 2020-21 B. League U-15 Championship, which wrapped up on Tuesday at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Mar 31, 2021
Kenichi Sako elected to FIBA Hall of Fame
The former national team player and current Akatsuki Five assistant coach will join 11 other basketball luminaries when their 2020 class is inducted on June 18.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Mar 30, 2021
Back from injury, sprinter Ryota Yamagata aims for 'extremely great year'
The 28-year-old, who experienced a collapsed lung in 2019 and knee injuries last year, has his sights set on this summer's Olympics.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Mar 22, 2021
NPB and J. League hope to lead by example with Tokyo Games on horizon
The members of the joint task force established by Nippon Professional Baseball and the J. League hope to set a positive example for this summer’s Olympics and Paralympics by safely holding large-scale sporting events.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Mar 22, 2021
Toyota completes WJBL Finals sweep to end Eneos' historic reign
“We've been chasing Eneos for the last 10 years and now we've done it,” Toyota guard and captain Naho Miyoshi said after her team's victory in the best-of-three series.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Mar 21, 2021
Antelopes dominate Sunflowers early to take WJBL finals lead
Toyota's strong rebounding game helped the Nagoya-based side overcome six-time reigning champion Eneos on Saturday at Yoyogi National Gymnasium No. 2.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Mar 16, 2021
In rare move, athletes and coaches speak out against Olympic planners
With support for the Tokyo Games still low, hopeful participants are taking to social media to push back against public perceptions that they are united with the event's organizers.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Mar 14, 2021
Brave Thunders hope team effort will pay off in B. League title chase
After winning their first Emperor's Cup in seven years on Saturday, Kawasaki is out to prove that the team doesn't have to lean on high-profile stars such as naturalized center Nick Fazekas.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Mar 13, 2021
Brave Thunders end drought with victory in Emperor’s Cup final
The Kawasaki Brave Thunders captured their first Emperor's Cup title in seven years on Saturday.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Mar 9, 2021
Sunrockers' Ryan Kelly storms back from injury with a vengeance
The power forward's return to the court came at the right time for Shibuya, which snapped a five-game losing streak with Sunday's win against the Alvark.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Mar 8, 2021
J. League and NPB considering on-site virus testing for quicker results
A contest between Gamba Osaka and Nagoya Grampus was postponed two hours before kickoff last week after players and staff tested positive for COVID-19.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Mar 6, 2021
Crane Thunders veteran Michael Parker still going strong at nearly 40
Michael Parker is seen by many as “the heart” of the Gunma Crane Thunders.
Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The National Diet building in Tokyo
G7 eyes plan on U.S.-led $50 billion aid package for Ukraine
A local resident visits the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The U.S. is in talks with close partners to lead a group of allies that would give as much as $50 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Japan drops to 70th in press freedom rankings
A businessman reads a newspaper outside a train station in Tokyo.
Japan’s record-low children population weighs on growth
The number of children 14 years old or younger fell for the 43rd straight year to around 14.01 million as of April 1.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
'Monster' Inoue ready to tear down Luis Nery in title defense at Tokyo Dome
Naoya Inoue (left) and Luis Nery following a pre-fight news conference in Yokohama on Saturday, two days ahead of their super bantamweight title fight.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Live like a lord or lady for a night at Ozu Castle
Live like a lord or lady for a night at Ozu Castle

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER