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Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
May 17, 2019

With its recent revamp, Japan's B. League could make the Reiwa Era its own

After decades of stagnation and instability, Japan men's basketball is finally headed in the right direction.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
May 13, 2019

'Home Run Jizo' testament of bond between Sadaharu Oh and ailing boy

It's raining hard at Shinbanba station in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. Pouring, actually, real cats-and-dogs-type stuff.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Apr 29, 2019

Home run celebrations becoming commonplace in Japanese game

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks infielder Kenji Akashi briefly went viral across baseball late last week when he hit a three-run sayonara home run and celebrated with a backflip onto home plate. Well, near home plate, as he had to go back and actually step on it.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Apr 22, 2019

Playing in Japan means sacrificing family time for many NPB players

David Huff, a left-handed reliever for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, is the pro athlete in the Huff household.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 20, 2019

Episode 10: Ichiro's last stand?

What can we expect in Japan's upcoming baseball season and how are some of the country's star players faring across the Pacific in the Major Leagues? The Japan Times' baseball correspondent, Jason Coskrey joins Deep Dive to discuss. Hosted by Oscar Boyd.
BASEBALL
Mar 18, 2019

Khris Davis' bat salvages tie for Athletics

Khris Davis' reputation for hitting home runs preceded him on the Oakland Athletics' trip to Japan, even among some of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' own sluggers.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 12, 2018

Former Yomiuri great Warren Cromartie wants to see more passion from NPB clubs

Warren Cromartie was one of the greats of his day during his time with the Yomiuri Giants from 1984-1990. He was one of the Central League's best players and a popular figure on Japan's most popular team.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 4, 2018

South Korea may seek change in controversial military exemption for athletes

South Korea may seek to revise its military exemption program for athletes amid calls for stricter rules after the country's soccer and baseball teams earned the exemption by winning gold medals at the Asian Games over the weekend.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Aug 9, 2018

Eagles' Japhet Amador banned six months for doping

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles infielder Japhet Amador has been suspended for six months after testing positive for banned substances, Nippon Professional Baseball announced Thursday afternoon.
BASEBALL
Aug 3, 2018

Remembering classic Koshien contests

Koshien, Japan's midsummer sporting tradition, has staged so many great, unforgettable battles in its one-century history. Quite impressively, they have stayed in the collective memory of the nation's baseball fans, partially thanks to its win-or-go-home format.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2018

Aging Japan: Akita Prefecture provides glimpse of country's graying future

On a recent weekday morning, a group of men in their 70s and 80s gathered for baseball practice just down the road from a junior high school where students were arriving to start the day.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Jun 18, 2018

Marines pitcher Mike Bolsinger gets NPB career off to roaring start

Early on during Mike Bolsinger's latest start for the Chiba Lotte Marines, catcher Tatsuhiro Tamura noticed his pitcher shaking his head a little every now and then and didn't quite know what to make of it.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
May 14, 2018

Kiyomiya already getting star treatment from NPB world

On the night Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks captain Seiichi Uchikawa reached the 2,000-hit milestone, one of the the first items on public broadcaster NHK's 9 p.m. national news program was a breathless retelling of the first NPB home run hit by Kotaro Kiyomiya, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' prized rookie....
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 13, 2018

Open doors are the key to the future

Encouraging the free flow of people both at the individual and organizational level makes perfect sense.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 11, 2018

Pitcher Nick Martinez finding Japan to his taste after joining Nippon Ham from Rangers

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters pitcher Nick Martinez is still making a lot of adjustments to his new baseball life in Japan. He's had to acclimate himself to a new style of baseball, a new culture, the travel and learn how to pack for NPB road trips.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Feb 3, 2018

Now or never for Dragons hurler Daisuke Matsuzaka

Daisuke Matsuzaka stepped into the bullpen for the first time during camp on Friday and threw 32 pitches in his still unfamiliar white No. 99 Chunichi Dragons uniform.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jan 29, 2018

Iwade takes progressive approach to sports medicine

Teikyo University men's rugby team head coach Masayuki Iwade has a golden rule — never compete when you are carrying a serious injury.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Dec 24, 2017

Hawks catch break with Yanagita

On one hand, Yuki Yanagita will be one of the most well-paid players in Japan next season. On the other, he'll be kind of a steal.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami