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 Kaz Nagatsuka

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Kaz Nagatsuka
Kaz Nagatsuka is a staff writer covering Japanese sports, including Japanese professional baseball, basketball, American football and individual sports. He has covered big sporting events such as the World Baseball Classic, the NFL Super Bowl and soccer's World Cup.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Sep 6, 2017
Japan Rising Star Project aims to maximize nation's young talent
Sometimes, the sport you are playing might not be the right fit for you, and you might have the potential to excel in something else.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Sep 3, 2017
Brave Thunders looking to take final step to silverware
A pair of runner-up finishes isn't a bad accomplishment for most teams.
Japan Times
SPORTS
Sep 2, 2017
Emmert offers insight on NCAA
Mark Emmert, the National Collegiate Athletic Association president, supports Japan trying to establish its own college sports governing body.
Japan Times
SUMO
Aug 30, 2017
Exhibition events bring sumo to new audience
Jungyo is similar to baseball's spring training for sumo; wrestlers are more relaxed and laid back, and fans have more opportunities to interact with the giant fellows.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 29, 2017
Okuhara ready to shift focus to greater challenges at 2020 Olympics
Nozomi Okuhara said that she wanted to measure where she is on the global badminton map right now.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 28, 2017
X League QB Gardner confident on field, comfortable living in Japan
For a man from the Mitten State, practicing in hot, sticky humid weather in the middle of August in central Japan might be a little daunting.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Aug 24, 2017
Sunrockers team up with Hunza to boost ticket sales
Going into the B. League's second season, the Sunrockers Shibuya are trying to fill their arena more with the help of an online ticket sales expert.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Aug 21, 2017
More to basketball than stats, says Jets' Ono
The Chiba Jets Funabashi don't just look at the numbers that appear on the stat sheet, because the game of basketball is a team sport and the collective effort of the players gives teams a better chance to win games.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Aug 18, 2017
Fujioka blossoming into star, leader
There is probably nobody else that shines as brightly as Manami Fujioka does in Japanese women's basketball right now, and many believe that she has the potential to eventually transform into a superstar player.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 17, 2017
Japan sprinters hungry for greater success
Another medal-earning feat by the Japan men's 4x100-meter relay team at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in London was certainly an encouraging sign, and now it hopes to achieve its ultimate goal: winning a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 15, 2017
Relay team proud of 4x100 bronze
The Japan men's 4x100-meter relay team stunned the world when it captured the silver medal at last summer's Rio Olympics.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Aug 12, 2017
Jazz assistant coach Lang values Japan experience
Duke University men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski's "fist" analogy to describe how a team gets stronger when it plays as a group is well-known.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 4, 2017
Ito aims to end taibatsu by coaches in Japan
Corporal punishment has long been a tradition in the Japanese school sports scene, just as it has in Japanese society as a whole.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 3, 2017
Murata-N'Dam rematch set for Oct. 22 at Ryogoku Kokugikan
After a controversial loss in his first world title shot in May, Ryota Murata has publicly adopted an "it-happens-when-it-happens" attitude about his potential rematch against the same opponent.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 2, 2017
U.S. to set up 2020 Olympics base at Tokyo American Club
Tokyo American Club has been reserved as the site for USA House at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the country's Olympic committee revealed there on Wednesday.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jul 31, 2017
Japan revels in Asia Cup three-peat
The Japanese women's national basketball team made a triumphal return home on Monday, fresh from winning the Asia Cup for the third straight time.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jul 30, 2017
Japan beats Uruguay to hand coach Lamas first win
Slasher Makoto Hiejima racked up a game-high 16 points as the Japanese men's national team cruised past Uruguay 72-57 in the second game of a two-game exhibition series at Aoyama Gakuin University on Sunday.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jul 29, 2017
Former super featherweight champion Uchiyama retires with pride in career accomplishments
Just like people in general, there is no immortality in sports. One day, every athlete starts declining, and one day he or she must quit.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jul 28, 2017
New coach Lamas preparing Japan national team for FIBA Asia Cup
New Japan men's national team head coach Julio Lamas, who arrived in Japan last week, has not spent enough time assessing his players and their technical skills yet. But he's satisfied with their intangibles so far.
Japan Times
SPORTS
Jul 28, 2017
Yasuda spearheads University of Tsukuba's efforts to modernize college sports in Japan
Dome Corporation CEO Shuichi Yasuda says that the country's universities are mostly conservative and reluctant to tackle new initiatives.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?