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November 08, 2025
 

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BASEBALL

Japanese Baseball

MLB
Japanese Baseball
Hawks players celebrate winning the Japan Series at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on Thursday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Hawks lay demons to rest with Japan Series win
Loss in the series last year has haunted the team and its fans, but the hardship has paid off.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Hawks rally past Tigers in 11th to win Japan Series
The Hawks won the final four games of the series after losing Game 1.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
SoftBank pitcher's Japan Series hit may be one of the last ever
Next year’s Japan Series will mark the final time a pitcher, at least according to the rules, will have to bat in an NPB game.
SoftBank shortstop Imamiya (right) celebrates after making a catch off Hanshin's Sakamoto's hit in the sixth inning at Koshien Stadium on Tuesday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 29, 2025
Imamiya's spectacular Game 3 catch may live on in SoftBank lore
By Jason Coskrey
​The veteran shortstop said the key to his performance is preparation, especially when it comes to playing on a surface as unfamiliar as Koshien Stadium’s all-dirt infield.
Hotaka Yamakawa celebrates with his teammates after hitting a home run against the Tigers in Game 3 of the Japan Series at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 28, 2025
Hawks edge Tigers on road to grab lead in Japan Series
By Jason Coskrey
The Hawks lead the series 2-1.
Hawks players celebrate victory over the Tigers at Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka on Sunday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Oct 27, 2025
Hawks aim to bring energy from Japan Series blowout to Koshien
By Jason Coskrey
The Hanshin Tigers' famously fervent supporters will likely kick it up another few levels as the Japan Series shifts to their home park.
SoftBank's Ukyo Shuto rounds first base after hitting a double in the seventh inning at Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka on Sunday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 27, 2025
Ukyo Shuto's run into Japan Series history shows game is about more than speed
By Jason Coskrey
Shuto set a Japan Series record in the Hawks’ 10-1 rout of the Hanshin Tigers in Game 2 on Sunday.
Tigers starter Shoki Murakami pitches against the Hawks during Game 1 of the Japan Series in Fukuoka on Saturday. Murakami pitched seven innings, allowing just one run and six hits.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 26, 2025
Tigers pitcher Shoki Murakami perseveres in Fukuoka, turning rocky start into ‘amazing’ outing
By Jason Coskrey
Murakami did not have his best stuff and found it hard to get into a rhythm early, but he stuck to his guns and bounced back.
The Tigers' Teruaki Sato hits an RBI double against the Hawks during the sixth inning in Game 1 of the Japan Series in Fukuoka on Saturday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 25, 2025
Tigers slip past Hawks in Game 1 of Japan Series
By Jason Coskrey
Hanshin won its fourth straight postseason game.
Hikaru Kawase and the Hawks will try to finish the job in this year's Japan Series after falling short in 2025.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 24, 2025
Hawks motivated to take down Tigers after last year's Japan Series collapse
By Jason Coskrey
Fukuoka hosts Hanshin Tigers in Game 1 of the Japan Series on Saturday night — and is determined to finish the job this time.

The Toyota buyout is a major test for Japan’s reforms
Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota Motor, speaks during a media preview at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Oct. 29. Minority investors are challenging the carmaker's bid to take affiliate Toyota Industries Corp. private.
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
New satellite images suggest 'mass graves' in Sudan's El-Fasher
A general view of a berm construction in Kinin Village near El-Fasher.
High-speed rail is expensive and difficult, but seen as a key to growth
Achal Khare, former managing director at India’s National High Speed Rail Corporation, gives a presentation during the IHRA Forum 2025 in Tokyo on Oct. 23.
SoftBank is said to have explored potential takeover of Marvell
SoftBank explored a potential takeover of U.S. chipmaker Marvell Technology earlier this year, in what would have been the semiconductor industry's largest-ever deal.
These are the hottest lower-division rikishi to watch right now
Fukazaki (right) grapples with Enho at the IG Arena in Nagoya on July 13.
Across borders and screens, Tokyo film festival finds humanity in migration
“Mother Bhumi” takes place in a multiethnic rice-farming community where Chinese, Thai and Malay lineages intertwine.
Takaichi’s balancing act: Supporting Taiwan and stabilizing China ties
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with Lin Hsin-i, Taiwan’s presidential adviser, on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday in this image posted to Takaichi's official X account.
From 1973 to 2025: A Japanese American skater’s long ride to recognition
Judi Oyama at Winchester Skatepark in San Jose, California, in January 1979. The Skateboarding Hall of Fame inductee and Guinness World Record holder still skates and hopes to inspire older women.
More Japanese universities pushing toward teaching in English
Waseda University in Tokyo

Podcast

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

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

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