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July 01, 2026
 

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SAC BUNTS

Buffaloes starter Anderson Espinoza pitches against the Fighters at Kyocera Dome Osaka on Friday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Apr 26, 2026
Anderson Espinoza leading early-season charge for first-place Buffaloes
Espinoza is off to a 4-0 start to the season.
The Fighters' Haruki Nishikawa hits a three-run home run against the Buffaloes at Es Con Field Hokkaido in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, on Saturday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Apr 6, 2026
Hard-slugging Fighters hitting homers at torrid pace to start NPB season
The Fighters have 22 home runs in nine games, while no other NPB team has reached 10 yet.
Shohei Ohtani is back with Samurai Japan for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Ohtani was the MVP of the 2023 tournament.
BASEBALL / Sac Bunts
Mar 2, 2026
Shohei Ohtani returns to Japan as the center of attention ahead of WBC
​Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar, arrived last week to join the rest of his Samurai Japan teammates ahead of the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal will play for the U.S. during the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
BASEBALL / Sac Bunts
Dec 22, 2025
WBC teams bulk up in bid to take Samurai Japan’s throne
Team USA’s roster is an embarrassment of pitching riches, but the more immediate threat to Japan’s reign might be the Dominican Republic.
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks' Ryoya Kurihara hits a two-run double against the Seibu Lions in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, on Saturday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Sep 29, 2025
Hawks take step toward Japan Series redo with Pacific League title
Unlike last year, this team is battle-tested, with injuries being the source of much of the adversity the Hawks have faced.
Tigers manager Kyuji Fujikawa is tossed in the air as the team celebrates winning the Central League pennant at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on Sunday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Sep 8, 2025
Roaring Tigers had no equal in CL on way to winning pennant in record time
The club took a step toward becoming the best team in Japan by clinching the Central League pennant in record time with a 2-0 victory over the Hiroshima Carp on Sunday.
Hawks pitcher Livan Moinelo has a 1.13 ERA in 19 starts this season.
BASEBALL / Sac Bunts
Aug 18, 2025
Candidates preparing to make final pitches for Sawamura Award
The prize’s committee did not deem anyone worthy last year and simply did not name a winner.
Swallows slugger Munetaka Murakami celebrates after hitting a home run against the BayStars in Yokohama on July 29.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Aug 4, 2025
Return of Munetaka Murakami could get hearts racing at Jingu Stadium again
The Swallows have not been good this year but have a chance to end the season on a positive note.
The Angels David MacKinnon runs to first after recording an RBI single for his first MLB hit on June 22, 2022.
BASEBALL / Sac Bunts
Jul 31, 2025
Former Seibu player David MacKinnon hopes to connect baseball world with new podcast
MacKinnon decided to retire earlier this year after playing in MLB, NPB and KBO during his career.
Fighters starter Hiromi Ito pitches against the Hawks in Fukuoka on April 29.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
May 26, 2025
Fighters already showing last season’s playoff run was no fluke
Nippon Ham manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo has dialed back his antics lately, and perhaps with good reason — because it looks like the players are ready to take center stage.
Carp pitcher Hiroki Tokoda has seven hits this season, including a double.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
May 20, 2025
Can the Central League hold out against designated hitters?
There have been plenty of calls for the league to adopt the DH over the years. But some prefer the status quo.
Giants fans cheer during an exhibition game against the Dodgers at Tokyo Dome on March 15.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Apr 14, 2025
NPB can learn from MLB amid backlash to its new social media policy
Arguing that the rights of NPB and its broadcasters are in peril because fans upload short videos from games is a hard sell.
A clean-shaven Trey Cabbage poses during his introductory news conference with the Giants on Jan. 30 in Kawasaki.
BASEBALL / Sac Bunts
Mar 31, 2025
Giants’ new players make strong first impression on opening weekend
A group of new faces helped the Kyojin sweep their season-opening series for the first time since 2012.
Masahiro Tanaka signed with the Giants in December.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Feb 3, 2025
Star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka looking to revive glory days with Giants
Masahiro Tanaka is one of the most recognizable faces in Japanese baseball, but sightings of the new Giants pitcher were few and far between in 2024.
Shunsuke Nakamori pitches at Zozo Marine Stadium last season.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Jan 13, 2025
Marines will need other pitchers to step up after Roki Sasaki departs for MLB
The Marines — if they have not already — will be forced to accept a new reality where their starting rotation is not headed by one of the best young pitchers in the world.
Japan's players watch from the dugout after their loss against Taiwan in the Premier12 final at Tokyo Dome on Sunday.
BASEBALL / Sac Bunts
Nov 25, 2024
Japan exits Premier12 with no need to panic but with adjustments to make
Japan lost in an international tournament for the first time since the 2019 Premier12.
Roki Sasaki waves to fans after the Marines' final home game of the 2024 season.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Nov 11, 2024
Posting ace Roki Sasaki will leave Marines in awkward position
The Marines ace is expected to move to an MLB organization this winter.
The BayStars toss manager Daisuke Miura into the air after defeating the Hawks in Game 6 to win the Japan Series in Yokohama on Sunday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Nov 4, 2024
BayStars turn tables on Hawks after 2017 loss to capture Japan Series title
For the first time in 26 years, the BayStars are Japan Series champions.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani embraces teammate Enrique Hernandez following Game 5 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium in New York on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / Sac Bunts
Nov 1, 2024
Shohei Ohtani in position to continue winning after first World Series title
Ohtani finished his first season with the Dodgers with a championship.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani runs to first after hitting a single in the first inning against the Mets during Game 6 of the NLCS in the MLB playoffs in Los Angeles on Sunday.
BASEBALL / MLB / Sac Bunts
Oct 22, 2024
Shohei Ohtani closer than ever on World Series mission
The star stands four wins away from capping off a storybook first season with the Dodgers by achieving his dream of winning the World Series.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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