BASEBALL

Japanese Baseball

Roki Sasaki waves to fans after the Marines' final home game of the 2024 season.
Posting ace Roki Sasaki will leave Marines in awkward position
The Marines ace is expected to move to an MLB organization this winter.
The Marines will make ace pitcher Roki Sasaki available to MLB teams via the posting system, the team announced on Saturday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 9, 2024
Marines to allow fireballer Roki Sasaki to move to MLB via posting system
Sasaki is viewed as one of the best young pitchers in the world.
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.
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.
BayStars slugger Tyler Austin hit two homers against the Giants during the final stage of the Central League Climax Series.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 26, 2024
BayStars aim to complete Cinderella run against Hawks in the Japan Series
To say the Yokohama DeNA BayStars are underdogs against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the Japan Series would be putting it mildly, but titles are not decided on paper.
Fighters manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo celebrates his team's defeat of the Marines in the first stage of the Pacific League Climax Series on Monday.
Tsuyoshi Shinjo’s high-stakes gamble pays off in the Climax Series
Not every manager would willingly go into a three-game playoff series without planning for his best pitcher to throw.
Tomoyuki Sugano (left) with his Giants teammates during a game last month in Hiroshima.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 5, 2024
Giants ace Tomoyuki Sugano announces plans to join MLB
The long-time Giants starter has won the Sawamura Award as NPB's best pitcher twice, in 2017 and 2018.
Giants players celebrate their Central League title by tossing manager Shinnosuke Abe into the air after the team's 8-1 win over the Carp on Saturday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 29, 2024
Giants clinch Central League pennant after tough season-long battle
The storied club earned its first league championship in four years in a year in which the Giants are celebrating their 90th anniversary.

Longform

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?