Tag - professional

 
 

PROFESSIONAL

Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 20, 2017
MLB scouts keep tabs on young players at APBC
There were no elite players like Shohei Otani or Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, but the Asia Professional Baseball Championship served as a good showcase for MLB scouts to try and identify some up-and-coming, and possibly future MLB, talent.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Nov 19, 2017
Japan trounces South Korea in inaugural Asia Professional Baseball Championship final
Samurai Japan's young players grabbed their manager, Astunori Inaba, and threw him in the air once and then twice, before seemingly needing a few seconds to regroup before sending him up once more.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Nov 19, 2017
Samurai Japan southpaw Shota Imanaga baffles Taiwan batters in dazzling 12-strikeout performance
The way Shota Imanaga was pitching with a one-run lead took almost all the mystery out of Samurai Japan's game against Taiwan. Well, all of the mystery except the question of whether the next batter would strike out swinging or looking.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Nov 17, 2017
Lee Jung-hoo delivers game-winning triple in sixth inning as South Korea nips Taiwan
Lee Jung-Hoo's father may be a one of Korean baseball's former stars, but the 19-year-old is making a name for himself as a player in his own right.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Nov 17, 2017
Samurai Japan beats South Korea in 10-inning thriller in Atsunori Inaba's debut as manager
Atsunori Inaba's first game in charge of Samurai Japan had a little bit of everything. There were big plays, clutch hits and rallies in the bottom half of both the ninth and 10th innings.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 15, 2017
Samurai Japan ready for Asian test as Atsunori Inaba makes managerial debut
One day before the inaugural Asia Professional Baseball Championship begins, all three participating nations made their final tuneups with high expectations at the tournament venue, Tokyo Dome, on Wednesday.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 13, 2017
NPB to introduce video challenge system
Starting next season, managers in Japan will be able to request video reviews of calls on the field of play following a decision on Monday by Nippon Professional Baseball.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Oct 12, 2017
Samurai Japan unveils roster for new event
Japan's new manager is ready to lead the next generation on the road to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Oct 2, 2017
Time has come for NPB to address system for makeup games
On Sunday, the MLB season ended with all 30 teams in action, wrapping up the year in a nice and tidy 15-game bow as focus shifts to the playoffs.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 14, 2017
New posting system discussed by MLB, NPB as Otani eyes majors
Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball are discussing two proposals to replace the current posting system that would eliminate Japanese teams' ability to set a negotiating price for posted players.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 14, 2017
Batting, not money, could be key factor in race to land Fighters star Otani
Should Shohei Otani move to the majors via the posting system, as informed sources said Tuesday he expects to do, it will be a rare case where money will not be a primary factor in negotiations.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Sep 11, 2017
Samurai Japan to face Asian rivals in November tournament
For manager Atsunori Inaba and Samurai Japan, it's full steam ahead for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. And the first stop on what Japan hopes is the road to a gold medal comes in November, when Inaba makes his debut at the inaugural Asia Professional Baseball Championship 2017.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2017
Is Baseball Hall of Fame a museum or a shrine?
If Cooperstown wants admission to mean enshrinement, it must embrace and articulate the hall's ethic — that real success must be honorably achieved.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 5, 2017
NPB eyes 'meaningful' international games to bolster national team in run-up to 2020 Olympics
Nippon Professional Baseball is working to line up November exhibition games in order to strengthen its national team before the 2020 Olympics, commissioner Katsuhiko Kumazaki said Thursday.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Dec 20, 2016
Fighters superstar Otani receives top prize at Japan Professional Sports Awards extravaganza
Baseball sensation Shohei Otani, one of the brightest stars of the nation’s sporting scene in 2016, was the recipient of the grand prize at the annual Japan Professional Sports Awards at a Tokyo hotel on Tuesday.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Nov 10, 2016
Tennis pioneer Ishiguro dies at 80
Osamu Ishiguro, Japan's first professional tennis player after World War II and the father of actor Ken Ishiguro, died Wednesday, his family said Thursday. He was 80.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Aug 1, 2016
BayStars' Ikeda ready to turn club into winner on diamond
Second in a two-part series
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jul 31, 2016
BayStars president Ikeda building brighter future for team
First in a two-part series
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jul 20, 2016
NPB set to introduce revised collision rule
Nippon Professional Baseball's revised collision-prevention guidelines will be put into effect this week, the commissioner's office announced Wednesday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jul 16, 2016
NPB to proceed with revisions to home plate collision rules after explanation to players
Nippon Professional Baseball confirmed Saturday it will go ahead with revisions to its home plate collision guidelines but only after explaining the changes to the players.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores