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Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 1, 2012

Sky Tree to offer world's highest bungee jump

Tokyo's newest and biggest visitor attraction, the 634-meter-high Tokyo Sky Tree in Sumida Ward, will open to the public on May 22. And if 11th-hour contract negotiations bear fruit, visitors to the Sky Tree may soon have the opportunity to plummet 430 meters (over 1,400 feet) toward terra firma, in...
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 31, 2012

Takamatsu's plight reflects poorly on league

The Takamatsu Five Arrows are awful, so bad that they don't even pretend to be a cheap imitation of a mediocre franchise.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 29, 2012

Mariners defeat A's in 11th

Ichiro Suzuki was the center of attention from the time the Seattle Mariners arrived in Japan.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 18, 2012

Tokyo Dome turns 25

Can you believe this will be the 25th season of play already at the Tokyo Dome?
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 16, 2012

Female knuckleballer Baker makes mark on diamond

When she was 7 years old, Chelsea Baker switched from playing softball to baseball because her older brother, Gary, was playing the latter.
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 11, 2012

Young hopes bloom eternal

The first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake is a time to commemorate the victims of that terrible tragedy. But it is also an opportunity to look to the future.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Feb 28, 2012

UFC hopes to shake up Japan fight scene

In the fourth round, Benson "Smooth" Henderson caught the neck of Frankie Edgar in a guillotine, and it looked so tight. But somehow Edgar, the UFC lightweight champion, escaped.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Feb 24, 2012

Tech for keeping pace with the marathon trendsetters

Technology in the form of everything from to e-cash to purpose-built apps is coming to the aid of runners in the annual Tokyo Marathon.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 12, 2012

No starting pitcher announcement creates confusion, intrigue in Central League

Japan's Central League has said it is considering to join its Pacific League cousin in adopting the "yokoku sempatsu" policy of announcing starting pitchers in advance this season. The starters for each Pa. League contest are officially designated 24 hours prior to game time, and anyone can watch the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 2, 2012

Tokyo Jihen "Color Bars"

Tokyo Jihen's first five albums have titles relating to types of television programming, "Sports" or "Variety" or "Adult." The Shiina-Ringo-led group's sixth album, though, is titled "Color Bars," after the rainbow lines that grace the TV screen during technical difficulties or dead-air time. It's a...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 29, 2012

Expect Hall of Famer Ryan to be a positive influence for Darvish

Did you watch on TV that news conference last week introducing Yu Darvish as a member of the Texas Rangers?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 28, 2012

Watching Nishikori Down Under

All Japan was watching as Kei Nishikori, the first Japanese tennis player to make it to the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam since Shuzo Matsuoka at Wimbledon in 1995, took on the No. 4 seeded Brit, Andy Murray, at the Australian Open Wednesday night. Nishikori, ranked 24th in the world, knew he was up...
Japan Times
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jan 25, 2012

Darvish could be in for rude awakening with Rangers

The worst way to start a new relationship of any kind is with a lie.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / LIGHT GIST
Dec 27, 2011

2011: a year of disaster in quotes

This year produced more than its share of memorable quotes, many of which were inspired by the March 11 disaster and its aftermath. But figures from other fields, from sports to entertainment, also said things worth repeating. Here is a sampling, in chronological order:
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 25, 2011

'Takeshi Art Beat' on tap dancing; New Year's Eve TV roundup; CM of the week: Dorea

Ever wonder where director/star "Beat" Takeshi Kitano got the idea of the big tap-dancing finale for his 2003 remake of the samurai classic "Zatoichi"? It came to him after he saw the American dancer Savion Glover, who the program information says influenced Michael Jackson's Moonwalk.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Dec 18, 2011

Don't expect Japanese basketball to embrace a real, workable plan

Every few months a false sense of hope surfaces on the blogosphere and in the mainstream media, where optimists peddle the message that Japan's basketball "leaders" finally have their act together, that a new men's pro league will, ahem, finally replace the outdated, increasingly irrelevant JBL and the...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 11, 2011

Free agency likely to make negative impact on Hawks

They call the baseball off-season the "Hot Stove League" but, this winter, it might be called the "Overheated Stove" or the "Microwave League." As predicted in this column a few weeks ago, the flurry of activity in December would be fast and furious, especially because of the delayed end to the Japan...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2011

Green is the big thing at this year's Tokyo Motor Show

Japanese carmakers highlighted their latest green technology concept cars during Wednesday's media preview at the Tokyo Motor Show as they bid to lead the global trend toward energy efficiency and reignite interest among young people in automobiles.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Nov 27, 2011

Dr. J sale conjures up memories

For someone who did Julius Erving's bidding for almost three decades, it warmed my innards to see so many others still have the touch.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Nov 10, 2011

The next big thing, and one that never quite made it

Leading up to the 2011 Kyushu tourney down in Fukuoka, the world of sumo is looking to round off another annus horribilis.
COMMENTARY
Oct 19, 2011

NBA labor dispute illustrates an economic truth

Kevin Garnett, 35, the Boston Celtics forward who has had a stellar career, was with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2004 when a teammate, Latrell Sprewell, augmented the national stock of unfortunate pronouncements. Dissatisfied with a three-year $21 million contract extension offer, Sprewell said: "I've...
COMMENTARY
Oct 14, 2011

Why the sudden backlash against the wealthy?

The context for Occupy Wall Street and proposals to tax the rich — "rich" being constantly redefined — is the broader issue of economic inequality. For years, liberal politicians, academics and pundits have complained about growing inequality, but their protests barely resonated with the public....
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Oct 14, 2011

Gardow has expansion Jets prepared for takeoff

The bj-league's Eastern Conference is overflowing with newness this season.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Sep 25, 2011

Problems plague every level of game

Without drastic changes in the way it operates — and stuck with a mentality that is out of date with current reality — the Japan Basketball Association (JBA) will continue to be a deterrent to success and progress in men's and boys basketball at all levels.
Japan Times
LIFE
Sep 25, 2011

Students' skills help to forge a new Tohoku

In late July, when the students of Osaka Institute of Technology's Department of Architecture first arrived at the tiny port of Oharahama, an air of negativity hung over the conversation of the locals.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 20, 2011

You name it: Rights for more municipal sites go on sale

C.C. Lemon isn't just the name of a soft drink — it's also the name of a famous concert hall in Tokyo more popularly known as Shibuko — a mecca for aspiring rock stars throughout Japan.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Sep 20, 2011

Fighters keep focus on PL pennant after Nashida bombshell

Bobby Keppel's translator stood at the ready, but the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters pitcher didn't need him.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Sep 14, 2011

Hino, Tanaka, Shoji begin Junior Grand Prix season with podium finishes

With the first two weeks of the Junior Grand Prix season in the books, Japanese skaters have posted encouraging results so far.

Longform

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