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July 13, 2025
 

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Kaz Nagatsuka

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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.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 9, 2021
How we saw it: The Japanese Women's Olympics
Japan collected 58 medals, its most at a Summer Olympics, and more than half of the honors involved female athletes.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 7, 2021
With eye on gold, Japan women's basketball team looks to avenge first loss to U.S.
The previous best Olympic finish for the Japanese women's team, which now sits at No. 10 in the world, was fifth at the 1976 Montreal Games.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 6, 2021
Silver lining: Japan’s Kiyou Shimizu grateful to have competed in karate's Olympic debut
The Osaka native said that she was grateful that the sport's profile was raised through the Games and that it was a privilege to be able to perform at Nippon Budokan.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 6, 2021
At the Tokyo Olympic marathons, all eyes are on the shoes
Interest in runners' shoes is part of a trend that has grown over the last few years with the emergence of thick-soled sneakers with embedded carbon plates.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 5, 2021
Japan's women's basketball team not satisfied with just being Cinderella
The Akatsuki Five are officially in uncharted territory. Can they reach the podium?
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 4, 2021
Japan wins thriller over Belgium to move into women's basketball semis for the first time
Saki Hayashi was the hero on the day, sinking a clutch 3-pointer with just 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter to put Japan ahead for good.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 3, 2021
Japan's Sena Irie punches her way to gold in women's boxing
Irie, a native of Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, is the first athlete from the sparsely populated prefecture to win Olympic gold.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 2, 2021
Japan’s women’s basketball team drains 19 3-pointers in 102-83 win over Nigeria
The Akatsuki Five will now advance to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive Summer Olympics.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 1, 2021
Japanese basketball team ends Olympics knowing it has plenty of work to do
Japan made an early exit from the Games having gone winless, ending their tournament with a 97-77 loss to Argentina in their final Group B contest at Saitama Super Arena on Sunday.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 1, 2021
Japan confident heading into Olympic soccer semifinal against Spain
After squeaking past New Zealand, the team appeared unfazed by the down-to-the-wire drama, because, at the end of the day, winning was the ultimate goal in the knockout stage.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 1, 2021
Japan's 3x3 basketball Olympic teams left wanting more after turning heads in preliminary round
“3x3 will have a huge impact on Japanese basketball in the future and there is a good chance Japan becomes a 3x3 powerhouse,” said Torsten Loibl, the director/coach of the country's teams.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 30, 2021
Japanese skateboarders hope Olympics will mark a turning point
Skateboarding is often perceived as an activity for rebellious teenagers, but devotees of the sport hope that gold medals by Japanese athletes at the Tokyo Olympics will change that image.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 29, 2021
Japan's basketball team on the ropes after lopsided loss to Slovenia
Now Japan needs to defeat Argentina, the 2004 Olympic gold medalists, in their final Group B game on Sunday in order to give themselves a chance of advancing to the knockout stage.
OLYMPICS
Jul 28, 2021
An injury almost ended Mikiko Ando's Olympics before they began. Now she's a bronze medalist.
Ando had severely hurt her knee when she dropped a 120-kg barbell just three weeks before the Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 28, 2021
Samurai Japan squeaks out walk-off win over Dominican Republic in Olympic baseball opener
The first game of any tournament is always tough, especially on one of the biggest stages in sports, and that was certainly the case for Samurai Japan on Wednesday.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 27, 2021
Japan's women's basketball team off to flying start with 72-68 win over France
The hosts and the French squad went toe-to-toe — while employing completely different styles — throughout a seesaw affair that saw 17 lead changes.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 27, 2021
Akatsuki Five show progress in defeat to world No. 2 Spain
Japan was unable to contain Timberwolves veteran Ricky Rubio, but held strong against the reigning FIBA World Cup champion in their Olympic group-stage opener.
OLYMPICS
Jul 26, 2021
Yuto Horigome still in disbelief a day after winning Olympic skateboarding gold
The Japanese skater says he was honored to notch his name in the history book, having won the street competition in the newly added Olympic sport.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 25, 2021
Tokyo Games showcase the changing face of sports in Japan
From Naomi Osaka to Rui Hachimura, a generation of biracial athletes in the Olympics are helping shift perceptions of what it means to be 'Japanese.'
OLYMPICS / Faces of Tokyo 2020
Jul 23, 2021
Japanese athletes who have overcome adversity to be at the Tokyo Games
The miraculous return of Rikako Ikee might grab headlines, but the country's swimming star isn't the only athlete who needed to battle tough times to qualify for the Games.
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Nissan clinches $4.5 billion bond deal after orders soar
Nissan Motor has raised $4.5 billion through a junk bond sale in U.S. dollars and euros, part of which carries a record-high coupon rate.
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
An emoji used to say it all. Now it might say too much.
Apple’s Craig Federighi shows off a set of emoji at a conference on June 13, 2016. While the small pictures have proved helpful in conveying nuance in our texts, younger people are using them less often.
‘Our ultimate goal is to save every single Japanese video game’
After nearly shuttering earlier this year, the Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society continues its work to save the early history of Japanese gaming.
Rare vintage shots and first-time shows at TOP’s 30th anniversary
The museum's curators selected a wide array of works from the archives for the milestone exhibitions. Among other photos, Nobuyoshi Araki's work from the series "Winter Journey" (1990) was included in the "Continuity and Change" exhibition that concluded in June.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning
Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

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