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July 15, 2025
 

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Wayne Graczyk
Wayne Graczyk has written the "Baseball Bullet-In" column in The Japan Times since 1976. A native of New Jersey, he came to Japan in 1969 with the U.S. Air Force and is a 1977 graduate of Tokyo's Sophia University. Wayne was the long-time (1977-2004) sports editor of the Tokyo Weekender newspaper, he covers Yomiuri Giants baseball games for Nippon TV and, since 1976, he has compiled the Japan Pro Baseball Fan Handbook & Media Guide. He is a member of the Tokyo Sportswriters Club and the Foreign Sportswriters Association of Japan. Notice Wayne Graczyk, the baseball columnist for The Japan Times for the past 40 years, passed away at the age of 68 on April 19. His final column was posted on April 8. Readers can continue to access his coverage of Japanese baseball through the online archives.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 8, 2017
Future high-rise building could provide free views of Jingu Stadium games
It appears some apartment dwellers in Tokyo will soon have a great view of Yakult Swallows games at Meiji Jingu Stadium. A high-rise building is under construction right across the street from the ballpark. It's on the road that runs from the future site of the new National Stadium to the T intersection...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 25, 2017
MLB Network’s Martinez, Waltz inform and entertain during WBC telecasts
Good show put on by Major League Baseball and the organizers of the 2017 World Baseball Classic Asia rounds held in Seoul and Tokyo earlier this month.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 11, 2017
BayStars look to replicate Carp's 2016 success
Can the Yokohama BayStars become this year's Hiroshima Carp?
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 25, 2017
Legend Nagashima rekindles memories of an unforgettable life in baseball
It was good seeing former Yomiuri Giants third baseman and manager Shigeo Nagashima visiting the team's spring training camp in Miyazaki earlier this month. He just turned 81 this past week and is visibly handicapped by a stroke suffered in 2004 that limits movement on the right side of his body and...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 11, 2017
Flurry of stadium naming rights continues in NPB
Are you going to any games this coming season at ZOZO?
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 21, 2017
Late slugger Daryl Spencer brought passion, pride, power to Hankyu Braves
The Baseball Bullet-In this week remembers Daryl Spencer, the former Hankyu Braves slugger who died Jan. 2 in Wichita, Kansas, at the age of 88.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 7, 2017
Can Naoki 'The Flea' Nakahigashi extend his career?
Happy New Year to all Baseball Bullet-In readers, and let the countdown begin. Just 24 days until the Japanese pro ball clubs begin spring training camps on the way to opening day of the regular season on March 31.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 24, 2016
Ex-Dragons star Powell reminisces about playing days in Japan
One of the most prolific hitters among foreign players in Japan, and a most fan- and media-friendly personality, returned to the country earlier this month to say "konnichi wa" and offer batting instruction to Japanese youngsters.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 10, 2016
A plethora of familiar foreign players now on free-agent market
The NPB last week posted the rosters for each of the 12 Central and Pacific League teams, indicating which players remain on the register for 2017 and those who have been released and are under jiyu keiyaku, or free contract status.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 26, 2016
Pondering Trump's future prospects of throwing out first pitches in MLB, NPB
What kind of president will Donald Trump be regarding sports?
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 12, 2016
Sentimental reflections on late Cubs supporters after team's epic wait for World Series title
During the 11 days since the Chicago Cubs won their first World Series in 108 years, much has been written and circulated about the dedicated fans, supporters and players who lived their lives and died before they could experience the exhilaration enjoyed earlier this month by the living Cubs faithful....
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 22, 2016
Veteran pitcher Standridge's life, family enriched by adopted Japanese daughter
Joy Standridge posted on social media Oct. 6 that her husband, Jason Standridge, "pitched his last game last night — maybe forever." The Chiba Lotte right-hander started the Marines' final game of the 2016 season at home, and he won, beating the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, 7-1.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 8, 2016
Out-of-town scoreboards would enrich experience at all ballparks
Why don't the Japanese pro baseball stadiums have out-of-town scoreboards, and why do many of the main ballparks not display the home-run distances on the fences?
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 24, 2016
Making a toast to retiring beer girl Misato
The intai jiai (retirement game) is a significant event in Japanese pro baseball for long-time star players about to hang up their spikes and call it a career. It usually occurs at the end of a season after it has been announced the player is leaving the game and after league standings have been decided....
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 10, 2016
Countryside games add challenges, concerns for NPB teams
Japan's schedule of countryside games (those played away from the home franchise stadiums of the 12 Central and Pacific League teams) has concluded for the season. The last scheduled game, where the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters were to have played the Chiba Lotte Marines on Tuesday at Asahikawa was rained...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 30, 2016
Former BayStars infielder Gurriel gets opportunity to pursue dream with Astros
Good luck to the Houston Astros on acquiring Cuban star player Yulieski Gurriel. The American League club signed the 32-year-old infielder earlier this month and, after obtaining a U.S. work visa and playing some tune-up games for a team in the Astros' minor league system, he was expected to suit up...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 23, 2016
Long-lost basketball card sparks memories of Ichiro's early fame
Miami Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki is about to reach the 3,000-hit mark in Major League Baseball. The 42-year-old Japanese icon is expected to conquer the milestone this week during Miami's 10-game homestand.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 9, 2016
A primer on evolution of pro sports' All-Star events
Next week, Japan professional baseball will play its annual two-game All-Star series with contests scheduled at Fukuoka Yafuoku Dome on July 15, and Yokohama Stadium on July 16. The All-Star games are like a festival in Japan, and the series will most likely draw capacity crowds, but has the idea of...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 25, 2016
Okinawa base trouble puts dark cloud over upcoming Buffaloes-Eagles series
This week, the annual two-game series where a couple of Japanese pro ballclubs travel to play at Naha's Okinawa Cellular Stadium will take place. The Pacific League's Orix Buffaloes and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles are scheduled to play there Tuesday and Wednesday. Normally, U.S. military personnel stationed...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 11, 2016
Fighters could start trend with building of own stadium
The recent story about the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters considering the building of their own stadium on Japan's northernmost main island and move out of Sapporo Dome got me to thinking about the status of the other currently used ballparks in Japan.
U.S. urges clarity on Japan’s role in potential war over Taiwan, report says
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit, at the GSDF's base on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
Tourists in Japan have telemedicine options before calling 119
Foreign tourists at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo. More than 1 million international visitors have a medical issue in Japan every year.
Tropical Storm Nari moves northward, with possible landfall Tuesday
Tropical Storm Nari's forecast path as of Monday morning
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.
Students in Japan struggle with Japanese language and math sections on national exam
The correct answer rate for the Japanese language section on a national test dropped to 67.0% from 67.8% the previous year among elementary school sixth-graders.
U.S. urges clarity on Japan’s role in potential war over Taiwan, report says
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit, at the GSDF's base on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
Tourists in Japan have telemedicine options before calling 119
Foreign tourists at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo. More than 1 million international visitors have a medical issue in Japan every year.
Is Japanese skin really ‘too smooth’ for Hideo Kojima’s games?
Hideo Kojima, the leading auteur in Japanese video games, has skirted controversy in the wake of the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
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.

Podcast

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

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa

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