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:
Looking down at the sea of dark blue seats that frame one of Nippon Professional Baseball's smallest playing fields, one thing becomes clear: For the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, the ballpark, and the myriad experiences it offers those who take in a game, is their ...
Japan Fencing Federation president Yuki Ota has been known as an innovator in the sport since taking over his leadership post in 2017. But he has recently hammered out another unprecedented, astounding initiative. On Thursday, the national governing body announced that an English proficiency exam will ...
Yuta Watanabe has certainly become a basketball celebrity in Japan, having become the second-ever player from the country to play in the NBA this season. But the youngster's celebrity seems to keep growing. Since Watanabe, who signed a two-way deal with the Memphis Grizzlies in July, ...
With the popularity of Japanese basketball continuing to grow, it's expected that arenas will be filled to capacity during the upcoming B. League Championship playoffs. "On Feb. 24, the Japanese men's national team clinched a berth in the World Cup, which gave us a spot ...
Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, who signed a "promotional contract" with Japan's RIZIN Fighting Federation earlier this month, made an in-ring appearance during Sunday's event at Yokohama Arena. The 40-year-old Filipino grabbed a microphone and addressed a crowd of 12,914 before the day's final two matches, ...
Ace scorer Davante Gardner secured the ball that was shot by Kawasaki's Ryusei Shinoyama, ran out of the paint area and threw it high — really high — into the air just before the buzzer sounded. That was the dramatic moment when the Niigata Albirex ...
One day after Rizin Fighting Federation announced that it has signed a contract with boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, its CEO, Nobuyuki Sakakibara, made it clear that this is more like a promotional deal, not a fight contract. As the first step of the partnership, Rizin ...
During the past decade, Yuki Kawauchi has been perhaps Japan's most famous marathon runner. He's been known as the "Citizen Runner" or the "Civil Service Runner." But he no longer carries these catchphrases when he runs. Kawauchi became a professional runner on Monday, meaning he will ...
Right after the final buzzer, the TV camera momentarily caught head coach Julio Lamas giving a strong hug to athletic trainer Takeo Ichiyanagi after they helped accomplish a big feat in the Middle East in late February. Koichi Sato, the sports performance director for the ...
It was only one event. And there was no guarantee of continued success for a long time into the future. Even so, ONE Championship's first-ever event in Japan managed to instill confidence that the organization is on the right path for further success in the ...
