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Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani is splashed with water after hitting a walk-off home run against the Braves at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
BASEBALL
Apr 3, 2025

Shohei Ohtani hits walk-off homer as unbeaten Dodgers make history

The Dodgers became the first defending champion to open a season 8-0.
Tokyo police on Thursday sent to public prosecutors papers on six comedians from major Japanese entertainment agency Yoshimoto Kogyo on suspicion of gambling via online casino services.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 3, 2025

Papers on six Japanese comedians sent to prosecutors over online gambling

They are suspected of accessing and gambling on overseas online casino websites between January 2023 and December 2024.
Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki throws a pitch during his outing against the Phillies in Philadelphia on Saturday.
BASEBALL
Apr 6, 2025

Dodgers hold Phillies to four hits as Sasaki impresses

Sasaki allowed just three hits, two walks and an earned run over four-plus innings while striking out four.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singles against the Mets during the eighth inning at Citi Field in New York on Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 7, 2025

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. agrees to $500 million extension with Blue Jays

Guerrero, a four-time All-Star and the American League MVP runner-up in 2021, was set to become a free agent at the end of the season.
Eagles rookie Rui Muneyama (center) poses with pitcher Takayuki Kishi (right) and infielder Hideto Asamura after a win in Sendai on April 3.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Apr 7, 2025

Rookie duo off to hot starts at plate in new NPB campaign

Seiya Watanabe and Rui Muneyama both have at least 10 hits so far this season.
Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga pitches against the Marlins during the first inning in New York on Monday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 8, 2025

Kodai Senga and Mets' bullpen bottle up Marlins in 2-0 win

Senga gave up five hits and two walks while striking out four over five innings.
Bento boxes and other food items attract visitors at the Sera roadside station in Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Apr 21, 2025

10 years on, Hiroshima-Shimane highway boosts logistics and tourism

The Chugoku Yamanami Highway has played a crucial role in regional development since its full opening in 2015.
The Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr. rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Mets in New York on May 10, 2024.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 11, 2025

Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. to have knee evaluated

Acuna, 27, has participated in batting practice but hasn't yet been cleared to run the bases.
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring against the Union during their game in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 29.
SOCCER
Apr 11, 2025

MLS to open second phase of study to explore major overhaul of season

MLS currently plays from February to December but has been examining a plan to switch to start the campaign at the end of the summer and conclude in the spring.
Ousted former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waves to his supporters as he moves out of the presidential residence in Seoul on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 11, 2025

Ousted South Korean President Yoon leaves official residence

The Constitutional Court upheld Yoon's impeachment last Friday, capping four months of unprecedented constitutional turmoil.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw six scoreless innings against the Cubs on Friday as Los Angeles maintained its perfect record at home.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 12, 2025

Yoshinobu Yamamoto fans nine as Dodgers shut out Cubs

Yamamoto (2-1) gave up two hits and had nine strikeouts and one walk while beating the Cubs for the second time this season.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele (not pictured) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2025

Trump calls for deporting some citizens to El Salvador, testing U.S. law

The comments are the clearest signal yet that the president is serious about deporting naturalized and U.S.-born citizens, a proposal many legal scholars say is unconstitutional.
Kirishima (behind) battles Atamifuji during a regional tour event in Hyogo Prefecture in 2023.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 16, 2025

Sumo's throwback regional tours offer glimpse into sport's heart and history

With tickets for grand tournaments tough to come by, regional tours are the best chances for fans to watch live sumo — and even interact with the sport's biggest names.
A joint study by the National Institute for Environmental Studies and Waseda University warns that, in the coming decades, nearly three-quarters of the country could face conditions in which intense physical outdoor activities should be suspended for months at a time.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 16, 2025

Rising temperatures could cancel most outdoor school sports in summer by 2060s

Six out of eight regions in Japan could see weekly sports cancellations due to dangerous heat by the 2060s.
Samples of rare earth minerals on display at the Molycorp Mountain Pass Rare Earth facility in California in 2015
WORLD / Politics
Apr 16, 2025

Seven rare earth metals that China is weaponizing against the U.S.

China’s dominance of both mining and processing rare earth minerals means these niche metals have become a cudgel to use against opponents.
Bottles of Hakkaisan-brand sake for export
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2025

U.S. tariffs overshadow Japan's agriculture and food exports

Japanese goods need to be sold by "emphasizing that there are no alternatives" to them, said Kazuhito Yamashita, senior researcher at the Canon Institute for Global Strategies.
Students practice dance during a project activity at Hotei Junior High School in Konan, Aichi Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 28, 2025

'Voluntary' school clubs face reform amid excessive burdens

Club activities have long been a standard part of junior high and high school life in Japan, but some schools now struggle to form teams.
Shohei Ohtani (right) talks to Roki Sasaki during the Dodgers' win over the Rockies in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 17, 2025

Shohei Ohtani homers as Dodgers win tight game to sweep Rockies

Ohtani also had an RBI single in the first inning.
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani and his wife, Mamiko, last May in Los Angeles
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 19, 2025

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani placed on paternity list

The Japanese slugger's wife, Mamiko, is slated to give birth to the couple's first child.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen meets Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man wrongly deported to El Salvador by the administration of Republican President Donald Trump, in this image released Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 19, 2025

U.S. senator meets wrongly deported Salvadoran man at hotel and calls for release

The case has pitted a defiant White House against the courts, including the Supreme Court, raising the prospect of a constitutional conflict.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws during the seventh inning of Los Angeles' win over the Rangers on Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 19, 2025

Tommy Edman and Yoshinobu Yamamoto lift Dodgers past Rangers

The Dodgers were without reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani, who was placed on the paternity list.
Shohei Ohtani celebrates with his teammates after their win over the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 21, 2025

Shohei Ohtani returns as Tyler Glasnow and six relievers shut out Rangers

Freddie Freeman drove home Will Smith with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly.
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows' Munetaka Murakami bats during spring camp on March 14 in the city of Urasoe, Okinawa. Murakami returned from a spring injury on Thursday but was taken off the roster again the next day.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Apr 21, 2025

Munetaka Murakami's return cut short as Swallows’ struggles deepen

The Tokyo team’s star slugger returned on Thursday but was taken off the roster again the next day.
Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki hits a two-run double during the first inning of Chicago's win over the Dodgers on Tuesday at Wrigley Field.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 23, 2025

Cubs rally late, upending Dodgers in 10th for 11-10 win

Shota Imanaga got the start for Chicago and pitched 5⅔ innings, allowing five runs — albeit with just two of them earned.
Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes cheers after striking out Dodgers second basemen Tommy Edman to end the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 26, 2025

Paul Skenes fans nine for Pirates to beat Dodgers and Yamamoto

Yamamoto (3-2) allowed three runs (one earned) on five hits over five innings with a season-high four walks and five strikeouts.
Stadium security and Pirates medical personnel attend to a fan who fell out of the stands during the seventh inning at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 1, 2025

Fan falls onto warning track during Cubs-Pirates game

The game was delayed for 10 minutes while paramedics and the teams' trainers strapped the fan to a backboard and carted him off the field.
A view of Koror, Palau’s main town, on April 10
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 1, 2025

Inside the U.S. battle with China over a Pacific island paradise

Palau is again on the frontline as China and the United States and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control.
The Tigers' Kenta Maeda pitches against the White Sox in Detroit on April 4. The Tigers designated Maeda for assignment on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 2, 2025

Tigers part ways with pitcher Kenta Maeda

Maeda, 37, had a 7.88 ERA in seven relief appearances this season.
Seiya Suzuki rounds the bases after hitting his second home run against the Pirates during their game in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 2, 2025

Seiya Suzuki homers twice to lift Cubs to win over Pirates

Seiya Suzuki hit two home runs and finished with three RBIs to lead the Chicago Cubs to an 8-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.
Naoya Inoue works out in Los Angeles in April. Inoue will put his undisputed super bantamweight crown on the line against Ramon Cardenas in Las Vegas on May 4.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
May 2, 2025

'The Monster' Naoya Inoue returns to U.S. to defend undisputed title

The pound-for-pound superstar remains undefeated with 29 wins — a staggering 26 coming by way of knockout.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan