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:
After achieving one of their goals for this season, the Sunrockers Shibuya are now moving on to shoot for the second: the B. League championship. After capturing the team's second All-Japan Championship title with a 78-73 win over the Kawasaki Brave Thunders at Saitama Super ...
The Sunrockers Shibuya are back on top of Japanese basketball for the first time in five years. The Tokyo side claimed the Emperor's Cup title on Sunday with a nail-biting 78-73 win over the Kawasaki Brave Thunders in the All-Japan Championship final at Saitama Super ...
The dynamic duo of Sebastian Saiz and Ryan Kelly guided the Sunrockers Shibuya to their first Emperor's Cup gold-medal game with a 96-69 win over the Shiga Lakestars in the All-Japan Basketball Championship semifinals at Saitama Super Arena on Saturday. Saiz, a 205-cm Spaniard, collected ...
The Kawasaki Brave Thunders bounced back from early scoring struggles and edged the Alvark Tokyo 69-66 on Thursday to advance to the All-Japan Basketball Championship semifinals. With Kawasaki up 67-64, guard Yuma Fujii nailed a layup to seal the deal for the Brave Thunders, who ...
The emergence of Rui Hachimura has absolutely been a catalyst for Japanese basketball and given younger Japanese players the inspiration to dream of one day reaching the NBA. High school hoopsters Ibu Yamazaki and Bruce Kanno are perhaps the best examples of this among the ...
His final-leg runner Keigo Yuhara was still on the road running. But Aoyama Gakuin head coach Susumu Hara was already high-fiving his other athletes at the finish line in Tokyo's Otemachi district, being certain his team would be back on top. The school racked up ...
Aoyama Gakuin University got off to a good start toward recapturing the Hakone ekiden title as it finished first on the opening day of the New Year's traditional event on Thursday. Aoyama Gakuin notched a first-day record of 5 hours, 21 minutes, 16 seconds, with ...
Japan's Olympians intend to take the nation by storm with their best-ever results at the 2020 Tokyo Games this summer. The Japanese Olympic Committee has hammered out a goal of 30 gold medals, nearly doubling its previous record, at the world's biggest sporting extravaganza. The ...
Fukuoka Daiichi added another crystal Winter Cup to its trophy shelf on Sunday with a dominant performance. The defending champion captured the title at the All-Japan High School Tournament with a 75-68 win over crosstown rival Fukuoka University Ohori in the boys' final at Musashino ...
Ohka Gakuen survived reigning champion Gifu Girls' late surge and recaptured the Winter Cup title with a 72-67 victory on Saturday at Musashino Forest Sports Plaza. For Ohka Gakuen, the All-Japan High School Tournament crown was the 22nd title — and first in three years ...
