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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.
BASKETBALL
Aug 11, 2006
Japan unveils roster for World Championship
Speed, agility, experience and poise -- versatility, unpredictability and desire, too. These are trademarks of the 12 basketball players named to the Japan National Team on Thursday night.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 2, 2006
Festival raises interest in American football ahead of 2007 World Cup
Baseball, soccer, basketball . . . and next up, football.
BASKETBALL
Jul 25, 2006
Orimo, Setsumasa taking on leadership roles for Team Japan
Five players attended the postgame press conference after Japan's win over Iran on Saturday, and Takehiko Orimo and Takahiro Setsumasa were always the first two to speak.
BASKETBALL
Jul 19, 2006
b-j league releases schedule
The bj-league announced the game schedule for the 2006-07 regular season on Tuesday. The season will tip off Nov. 4 with a Saitama Broncos-Toyama Grouses game at Tokorozawa Municipal Gymnasium, Saitama Prefecture and a Tokyo Apache-Osaka Evessa contest at Ariake Colosseum. The regular season concludes...
BASKETBALL
Jul 15, 2006
Japan to face Iran at Kirin Cup
announced Thursday that the Japan national team's opponent has fallen changed from Lebanon to Iran in the Kirin Cup Basketball 2006 from July 19-22. Lebanon pulled out of the tournament because its team activities have been behind. Beirut, Lebanon's capital city, has been under attack by Israeli forces...
BASKETBALL
Jul 4, 2006
Broncos introduce new coach
TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. -- The bj-league's Saitama Broncos announced Kenji Yamane as their new head coach on Monday.
SUMO
Jun 14, 2006
Hakuho ready to climb another level in Nagoya
Despite having sumo's highest rank in sight, ozeki Hakuho is not necessarily getting himself all psyched up.
BASKETBALL
Jun 14, 2006
Kirin Cup ticket giveaway
The Japan men's basketball team will take on Puerto Rico in the Kirin Cup Basketball 2006 July 19-22.
BASKETBALL
May 27, 2006
Igarashi counting on World Championship to show his stuff
The higher the goal you set, the more chances you have to achieve it.
BASKETBALL
May 23, 2006
Goya No. 1 draft pick in bj-league
It was a defining moment for the anxious players -- now happy to be professional hoopsters.
BASKETBALL
May 4, 2006
Tabuse still has eyes on NBA dream
Yuta Tabuse always watches NBA games, even when he's at a dinner table. And the sought-after dream has not changed at all since then.
BASKETBALL
May 1, 2006
Commish Kawachi looks to future of bj-league
The bj-league commissioner Toshimitsu Kawachi has watched game after game in his league all year, and as the inaugural season successfully came to an end at the weekend with the playoffs, he has no regrets and lots of hopes for the future.
BASKETBALL
Apr 29, 2006
Inaugural bj-league playoffs to rock Ariake this weekend
No matter where your team is seeded, if you lose, you go home -- that's how the bj-league playoffs go.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 19, 2006
WBC experience has Tamura thinking big
SAN DIEGO -- Hitoshi Tamura is not only a growing slugger in Japan, but he's also drawing attention on the World (Baseball Classic) stage.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 16, 2006
Ump Davidson works game; fans still unhappy over decision
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The biggest contributor to the United States' win over Japan on Sunday was there again for Japan's 6-1 win over Mexico.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 13, 2006
Japan pitchers must step up
It was such a humiliation for the Japanese pitchers.
BASKETBALL
Mar 8, 2006
Kimura thinks outside the box as chairman of new hoop circuit
As the bj-league representative and president of Invoice inc., Ikuo Kimura draws a clear line from the conventional sports chairpeople and directors.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 3, 2006
Unselfish Matsunaka putting it all on the line for 'Hinomaru' in WBC
Team Japan cleanup hitter Nobuhiko Matsunaka doesn't care how he swings the bat. Numbers are subordinate in the mind of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks star, especially in the World Baseball Classic.
BASKETBALL
Feb 2, 2006
Art of defense key to the bj-league championship
Defense rules in basketball, a stale cliche that rings as true in the bj-league as it does elsewhere in the hoops world.
BASKETBALL
Feb 1, 2006
Johnson changes roles for Saitama
The Saitama Broncos, struggling through the bj-league season, announced on Tuesday that head coach Charles Johnson will become a player/coach beginning in February. The league office said a player/coach is not authorized to coach while playing.

Longform

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