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BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 14, 2000

Giants ask fans to turn down volume

Anyone familiar with Japanese baseball and the nonstop cheering that goes on in the outfield bleachers for nine innings may find Wednesday's matchup between the Yomiuri Giants and Yokohama BayStars a rather quiet affair.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 30, 2000

Lotte closer Warren can't get a game in

Perhaps the most frustrated player in Japan pro baseball at present is Chiba Lotte Marines relief ace Brian Warren. With the team off to such a bad start in the 2000 Pacific League pennant race, Warren can't get into many games. As the team's closer, he's been extremely underworked, because Lotte has...
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 31, 2000

Cubs' catcher no ordinary Joe

Life has come full circle for Chicago Cubs catcher Joe Girardi and he seems pretty happy about it. The owner of three World Series rings -- earned during his last four seasons as a member of the New York Yankees -- Girardi is a profile in success.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 12, 2000

New Fighters skipper Oshima faces foreign slugger dilemma

Nippon Ham Fighters freshman manager Yasunori Oshima will be faced with a dilemma of sorts when the 2000 Pacific League baseball season begins April 1. He's got three quality foreign hitters but, once the exhibition schedule comes to an end, he'll only be able to play two of them. Japanese baseball rules...
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 16, 2000

One-on-one with new Red Sox hurler Samson

SEOUL -- Lee Sang Hoon, "Samson" to his Japanese fans, is one of the most talented pitchers to ever come out of South Korea, but also one of the most misunderstood.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 26, 2000

Korean owners play hardball, expel players from professional league for organizing union

After a group of Korean professional baseball players from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) formally announced they had formed a player union last Friday, the KBO and team presidents held an emergency meeting the following morning in Seoul and expelled all union members from the league.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 3, 2000

Bad predictions ring out 1999; New Year to see games in Nagano

Apparently, my ability to predict where Japanese free agent ballplayers would sign new contracts is no better than my infamous skill at picking pennant winners. You may recall in the Nov. 21 Baseball Bullet-In, I speculated on which teams the three high-profile Japanese free agents would eventually sign...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 31, 2023

Fighters debut 'best stadium in the world' as NPB kicks off new season

The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters have touted the opening of their new home, Es Con Field Hokkaido, as the dawning of a new generation.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB Preview
Mar 30, 2023

Central League rivals hoping to prevent Swallows three-peat in 2023

Hanshin’s pitching staff has turned run prevention into an art. If the hurlers get more help from the batters, Hanshin can win the pennant.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Jul 11, 2023

How a 'Muppets' artist became a part of J. League mascot history

Among American writer Guy Gilchrist's achievements over a career that has spanned more than 40 years is the creation of Shimizu S-Pulse mascot Pul-chan.
Members of the Kokugakuin University ōendan cheer group perform during a competition between university cheerleading squads in Tokyo on June 3.
SPORTS
Jul 23, 2023

Japan's macho cheerleaders fight to save a tradition

Dressed in old-fashioned, school-style uniforms, cheering squads are a mass of black at college baseball games as they shout out chants and bang taiko drums.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks to reporters following the Senate Republicans weekly policy lunch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington in April.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 29, 2023

After McConnell freezes midsentence, U.S. Senate GOP stands by him

Senate Republicans are standing by their longtime leader, brushing off questions about his health after he froze midsentence at the start of his weekly news conference Wednesday.
You may hear words like "kanshin" used when talking about baseball player Shohei Ohtani, but are people talking about "interest" or "admiration"?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 3, 2023

Step on a rhyme to better understand Japanese homophones

Spending time to learn the Japanese language's many homophones can result in a better understanding of definitions — and it's fun.
Sofia Coppola (right), Bill Murray (center) and Scarlett Johansson attend the Venice Film Festival to present their movie “Lost in Translation” in August 2003.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 13, 2023

The complex legacy of ‘Lost in Translation,’ 20 years on

Sofia Coppola's acclaimed film relaunched Tokyo's global fame, but along the way it forgot to show its Japanese characters some love.
Leaves of marijuana plants from which hemp fibers are extracted at Japan's largest legal marijuana farm in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, on July 5, 2016
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 21, 2023

Does a university cannabis scandal point to a larger trend?

A drugs scandal at Japan’s biggest university draws attention to a troubling statistic: Cannabis use among young people is on the rise.
Japan's women's volleyball team celebrates its silver medal during the podium ceremony at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Saturday.
OLYMPICS
Oct 8, 2023

Japan looks to youth at Paris Olympics after mixed Asian Games

Japan is looking to its young talent to impress at next year's Paris Olympics after finishing a distant second in the Asian Games medals table to host China.
The 2028 Los Angeles Games are set to feature cricket, flag football, lacrosse, squash and baseball-softball, following approval from the International Olympic Committee.
OLYMPICS
Oct 16, 2023

Cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash make 2028 Games cut

Each host city, under IOC rules, can request the inclusion of several sports for their edition of the Games.
Alpine is currently sixth in the Formula One constructors' standings.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Oct 18, 2023

Patrick Mahomes and Rory McIlroy join investors in F1's Alpine

The announcement comes ahead of the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
The NFL has used flag football to grow its global fan base.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Oct 18, 2023

NFL wants to clear a path to Olympics for players

Some NFL players have already expressed interest in competing for the U.S. team.
Seihan Mori, chief priest of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, writes "zei" (taxes), which was chosen on Tuesday as the kanji of the year.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2023

Talk of taxes spurs choice for Japan’s kanji of the year

The choice came as tax hikes and cuts were heavily covered in the news and discussed among policymakers.
As Japan’s borders opened back up and tourists eager to document their long-awaited trips to the country streamed back in, 2023 saw a handful of prominent content creators stir up trouble with local residents to grab attention online.
LIFE / Digital / 2023 in Review
Dec 29, 2023

Social media binged on bad behavior in 2023

Mischief makers like Johnny Somali and "sushi terrorism" instigators gained attention online amid a deluge of Japan-related content this year.
From movies, anime, manga and even to sports stars, 2023 was a year where global audiences demonstrated their increasing fondness for Japanese soft power.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 27, 2023

From Godzilla to Shohei: Japan's soft power had a big year

Little by little, Japan is getting better at pitching its copious wares overseas, and 2023 proved that.
Frontiers players pose with their trophies after winning the Rice Bowl at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 3, 2024

Frontiers roll over Impulse once again for third straight Rice Bowl

As with other recent title showdowns, Panasonic had opportunities throughout the game, but near-misses and questionable decisions saw them come up short.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2024

Sapporo Snow Festival opens with food areas coming back

Set to run until Feb. 11, this year's festival features a total of 196 snow and ice sculptures at three venues.
Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where Super Bowl 58 will be held on Sunday. The city is promising a spectacle around the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers showdown.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Feb 6, 2024

Las Vegas planning Super Bowl supernova to cement sports hub status

The spectacle could be biggest television event in the United States since Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969.
Chelsea defender Alfie Gilchrist celebrates after scoring the club's sixth goal during their English Premier League football match against Everton on April 15.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2024

Arsenal? Liverpool? Chelsea? Help me pick my 'football' team

This writer’s been in England for six years. It’s time he backed a club.
Four girls congregate at an empty swimming pool at their high school and discuss their lives in “Swimming in a Sand Pool.”
CULTURE / Film
May 2, 2024

‘Swimming in a Sand Pool’ takes rare dive into gender issues

Nobuhiro Yamashita draws appealingly natural performances from his cast of newcomers in the film adaptation of an award-winning play.
Daichi Nomiyama, 30, had posed as a reporter from the Asahi Shimbun since April, conducting interviews with members of various university cheerleading teams.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 13, 2024

Kamakura firefighter arrested for impersonating Asahi Shimbun reporter

The 30-year-old man passed himself off as a reporter for the newspaper to secure interviews with university baseball cheerleaders.
Amid AI chip juggernaut Nvidia's staggering successes, startups seeking the attention of Silicon Valley venture capitalists are being asked to innovate — but without a clear indication of where the next chapter of AI will be written.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jun 23, 2024

Beyond Nvidia: the search for AI's next breakthrough

Startups are being asked to innovate — but without a clear indication of where the next chapter of AI will be written.

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