J. League and NPB not moving behind closed doors
Despite a rise in new COVID-19 cases across Japan, neither Nippon Professional Baseball nor the J. League are considering going back to playing behind closed doors.
Carp's Masato Morishita tames Tigers to first defeat of season
Masato Morishita threw six shutout innings as the Hiroshima Carp won 1-0 to end the Hanshin Tigers' perfect start to the season on Tuesday in the Central League. Morishita (1-0), who went 10-3 with a 1.91 ERA to win CL Rookie of the Year last ...
Japanese fans have attended sporting events since July. Will they be safe at the Olympics?
Thorough countermeasures and restrictions on active support introduced by the country's professional sports leagues have allowed large crowds back into stadiums.
Foreign athletes and coaches will be allowed to enter Japan from Monday
Dozens of players and coaches will have missed the start of the J. League and NPB seasons due to travel restrictions that went into effect in January.
Former New York Yankee Masahiro Tanaka will open the season as the second starting pitcher in the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles rotation, manager Kazuhisa Ishii said Saturday. Tanaka, who returned to the Pacific League club this year for the first time since his 2013 MVP ...
NPB and J. League to push for shorter quarantines for athletes
Both leagues hope to hasten the integration of dozens of players and coaches who are waiting to enter the country and join their teams ahead of their respective seasons.
NPB spring training begins quietly in Japan amid coronavirus surge
Fans have been shut out of parks while all players, managers, coaches and staff had to undergo PCR testing before reporting to their respective camps.
NPB and J. League hope to avoid burdening local governments during training camps
Nippon Professional Baseball and the J. League want teams to focus on making sure players and staff members don’t become infected with COVID-19 during training camps.
NPB lays out plans for 2021 season
Teams will begin their spring camps as scheduled on Feb. 1 in Miyazaki and Okinawa prefectures, though they’ll do so with no fans present.
Incident-free Japan Series could aid push for fans to attend Olympics
NPB's ability to admit just under 70,000 fans to the series' four games, held across two cities in domed venues, may provide hints to organizers aiming to pack Tokyo 2020 stands next summer.
Hanshin pitching icon Kyuji Fujikawa calls it quits after 22 years
Hanshin Tigers pitching icon Kyuji Fujikawa brought down the curtain on his 22-year career Tuesday following his team's 4-0 loss to Central League champions the Yomiuri Giants. The 40-year-old reliever had aimed to retire at the end of the current coronavirus-interrupted season with at least ...
NPB-J. League COVID-19 task force to take more data-oriented approach to virus issue
The sports bodies have sought input from epidemiologists and other experts as they seek ways to boost attendance at games.
