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Events
Jan 8, 2002

Osaka hopes concerns ease in 2002 over economy, crime, the homeless

OSAKA -- From concerns over the economy to renewed hopes for the pro baseball Hanshin Tigers, here are some local issues, in no particular order, that many people in the Kansai region are focusing on for the coming year.
JAPAN / Media / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 30, 2001

A holiday basking in the blue glow

Depending on how you feel about the New Year's holidays and Japanese TV programming in general, the first week of the year is either the best week for TV or the worst. Most New Year's specials mimic what the average Japanese family is doing at home. Celebrities sit around in their finest holiday duds...
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 28, 2001

Ishii changes mind

Yakult Swallows left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii, in a turnaround from his earlier decision to stay in Japanese baseball, said Thursday he would like to try entering the major leagues via the posting system for the 2002 season.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 26, 2001

Giants slugger Matsui signs richest deal ever

Yomiuri Giants outfielder Hideki Matsui signed a new one-year contract Tuesday with the Central League club for an annual salary of 610 million yen, becoming the best-paid player in Japanese baseball history.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 22, 2001

Finally, English made simple!

It would be nice if learning a foreign language were as simple as learning to drive. We ought to be able to buy a language manual, study the rules, practice a few weeks, and pass a test. But learning a foreign language, especially English, is far more complicated. Therefore, I propose we simplify the...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 19, 2001

No Big Mac, no surprise

It should not be a surprise to anyone that Mark McGwire is not going to play for the Chunichi Dragons next season.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 16, 2001

The final downfall of a hard-boiled harridan

Just audible under the cheers that greeted the birth of the new princess was the tip-tapping of bored fingers coming from the direction of the "wide shows," where smiling faces and mandatory keigo barely masked acute impatience. Nine months of being forced to keep quiet about the crown princess's pregnancy...
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Dec 7, 2001

Taking centerstage without clamming up

On his first visit to Urato Junior High School a year and a half ago, David Goldberg was awestruck. He was glad that he had followed his predecessor's advice to take a camera along. On the early morning 30-minute ferry ride from Shiogama City in Miyagi Prefecture to the island of Nonoshima, Goldberg...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2001

Sachiyo Nomura arrested in tax probe

Sachiyo Nomura, the high-profile wife of Hanshin Tigers manager Katsuya Nomura, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly hiding roughly 570 million yen in income and evading 210 million yen in taxes.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 24, 2001

Giants decide to offload Martinez

The Yomiuri Giants will not offer slugger Domingo Martinez a contract for next season, officials of the Central League club revealed late Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 14, 2001

Ichiro named American League Rookie of the Year

NEW YORK -- Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, now a batting champion on both sides of the Pacific, was selected Monday as the American League Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Oct 23, 2001

Avoid sinking into the comfort zone

There's a common affliction suffered by baseball pitchers and corporate managers alike, a tendency that derails many careers, perversely, just when things couldn't be going any better. It's called "pitching too fine" in baseball, and if you're a fan, you know how heartbreaking it can be.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Oct 18, 2001

No-fry zones a must during World Cup

It used to be good being Swiss, apparently. Now the country that gave us the cuckoo clock and Toblerone finds itself without an airline and, worse still, without World Cup soccer on the telly next year.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 18, 2001

TUFF TALK

Kintetsu Buffaloes slugger Tuffy Rhodes is in the process of chasing one of the most revered records in Japanese sports -- Sadaharu Oh's single-season home run mark of 55 set back in 1964.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 12, 2001

Lasorda having a tough time

OSAKA -- Tommy Lasorda, the man who won the World Series twice as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the gold medal last year as the skipper of the U.S. team at the Sydney Games, loves the history of baseball.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 4, 2001

Rhodes, Buffaloes come up short against Lions

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. -- Fans hoping to see a piece of baseball history will have to wait at least one more night, after the Seibu Lions blanked the Kintetsu Buffaloes 4-0 on Monday evening at the Seibu Dome and prevented Tuffy Rhodes from cracking his 50th home run of the season.
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2001

Living on the edge

It's 6 a.m. on Saturday, and Teruyuki Kato is woken at home by the beeping of his government-issued pager. The University of Tokyo professor of geophysics knows he must act fast. He calls the local police, who arrive within minutes and transport him, sirens howling, red lights whirling, to the Meteorological...
MORE SPORTS
Aug 16, 2001

World Games 2001 open in Akita

Who is the best lifesaver in the world? Who is the most elegant performer at a height of 3,000 meters? And who throws a flying disc the most accurately?
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Aug 9, 2001

Times get tougher for Bush

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush has now been in the Oval Office for a little more than one half year, and it has been the best of times and the worst of times for him.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 18, 2001

Lasorda not doggin' it in Osaka

Tommy Lasorda gets around. On Sunday, July 8, the 73-year-old former Los Angeles Dodgers manager was at the Osaka Dome, "producing" an American ballpark event for the Kintetsu Buffaloes, wolfing down some Dodger Dogs and doing a TV interview. Two days later, "Tumblin' Tommy" was coaching third base for...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2001

Can Japan's 'pied piper' pull it off?

In July 2001, two very different people offer hope to the people of Japan. One is baseball player Ichiro Suzuki, the star of the Seattle Mariners. His cool looks and great hits suggest the possibilities of the sporting dream across the sea. The other is Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, with his wavy...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 12, 2001

Oh, Nagashima fill out All-Star series rosters

Seibu Lions star Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Iriki brothers earned their places in the upcoming All-Star series Wednesday as the managers' picks rounded out the 32-man rosters for the Central and Pacific Leagues.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 23, 2001

Fans by the Bay want more offense

Among the fans of the Yokohama BayStars are many foreigners. They include American military personnel stationed at the Negishi Housing Area in Yokohama and Yokosuka Naval Base and civilians living in Kanagawa and surrounding prefectures. From what I am hearing, they are not happy with their team's style...
MORE SPORTS / THE DUKE OF HAZARDS
May 22, 2001

Jumbo starting to consider his mortality

I used to be critical of some of Jumbo Ozaki's performances, especially outside Japan when he seemed to be so weak compared to his strong showings at home.
JAPAN
May 9, 2001

Shinmachi takes lead in sports for kids

Kyodo News Shinmachi, a small town of about 13,000 people in Gunma Prefecture, has drawn the attention of several municipalities because of its comprehensive regional sports club -- a concept common in Europe but relatively new to Japan.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 9, 2001

Daiei's pitching shuttle service

What in the world are they thinking? That's the question many Japanese baseball observers were asking when the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks announced the signing of left-handed American pitcher Chris Haney in mid-April.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat