Baseball: Japan fans hail Ichiro's move to Yankees
News On Japan via AFP -- Jul 25
Japanese fans and media on Tuesday hailed Ichiro Suzuki's surprise move to the New York Yankees as crowning his career and his best chance of clinching a World Series title before he retires.
Public broadcaster NHK led its midday news programme with the Japanese star's mid-season transfer from the Seattle Mariners and it made the front page of the country's biggest dailies -- even the business-focused Nikkei.
"To the elite club with sights set on conquering the world," said the Mainichi Shimbun's headline.
Suzuki moved to Seattle in 2001 from Japan's Orix Blue Wave, becoming the first Japanese non-pitcher in Major League Baseball, and his presence helped make the Mariners one of the most popular MLB clubs in his home country.
Now 38, the player remains hugely popular in Japan and the move is being seen as giving him a opportunity to win baseball's top honour before the end of his career, even as his figures fade.
Police said Thursday they have arrested a man after he allegedly punched four schoolchildren outside Ishioka Station in Ibaraki Prefecture. (Japan Today )
Police said Wednesday they are looking for a man who robbed a convenience store in Ome City, Tokyo, on Tuesday morning. Police believe the same man robbed the store in April. (Japan Today )
Multiple news outlets over the weekend reported on the arrest of a 28-year-old male for operating a prostitution ring employing underage females. (Tokyo Reporter )
The number of people who committed suicide in Japan in 2012 was 27,858, dropping below 30,000 for the first time in 15 years, the Cabinet Office said in a white paper on Tuesday. The figure was 2,800 fewer than in 2011. (Japan Today )
A collection of materials related to a 17th century mission sent by a Japanese feudal lord to Europe and the world's oldest autographic diary left 10 centuries ago by a Japanese regent have been selected for the UNESCO Memory of the World registry, the Japanese education ministry said Wednesday. (Global Post )
Almost 1,500 people were transported to hospitals by ambulance due to heatstroke last week, up sharply from 942 in the preceding week, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday. (Japan Times )
Police said Tuesday that a mummified body was found earlier this month in a storage cabinet in a restaurant in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. (Japan Today )
Among about 200,000 traffic signals nationwide, 16 percent are being used beyond the end of the expected lifetime of their electrical systems and some have even toppled over due to age, according to the National Police Agency. (Yomiuri )
Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, will likely see its summer "traffic jam" of climbers worsen this year thanks to its expected addition to the UNESCO World Heritage List. (Yomiuri )
In May, Akira Ikoma, the editor of a guide to men's entertainment called Ore no Tabi (My Journey), said that "Abenomics" had caused a spike in prices at high-end soapland bathhouses in Tokyo. However, the same editor tells Shukan Post (June 28) that the initiative is not impacting the low-end market in the same way. (Tokyo Reporter )
Police said Thursday they have arrested a man after he allegedly punched four schoolchildren outside Ishioka Station in Ibaraki Prefecture. (Japan Today 
) 
Police said Wednesday they are looking for a man who robbed a convenience store in Ome City, Tokyo, on Tuesday morning. Police believe the same man robbed the store in April. (Japan Today 
Multiple news outlets over the weekend reported on the arrest of a 28-year-old male for operating a prostitution ring employing underage females. (Tokyo Reporter 
The number of people who committed suicide in Japan in 2012 was 27,858, dropping below 30,000 for the first time in 15 years, the Cabinet Office said in a white paper on Tuesday. The figure was 2,800 fewer than in 2011. (Japan Today 
A collection of materials related to a 17th century mission sent by a Japanese feudal lord to Europe and the world's oldest autographic diary left 10 centuries ago by a Japanese regent have been selected for the UNESCO Memory of the World registry, the Japanese education ministry said Wednesday. (Global Post 
Almost 1,500 people were transported to hospitals by ambulance due to heatstroke last week, up sharply from 942 in the preceding week, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday. (Japan Times 
Police said Tuesday that a mummified body was found earlier this month in a storage cabinet in a restaurant in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. (Japan Today 
Among about 200,000 traffic signals nationwide, 16 percent are being used beyond the end of the expected lifetime of their electrical systems and some have even toppled over due to age, according to the National Police Agency. (Yomiuri 
Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, will likely see its summer "traffic jam" of climbers worsen this year thanks to its expected addition to the UNESCO World Heritage List. (Yomiuri 
In May, Akira Ikoma, the editor of a guide to men's entertainment called Ore no Tabi (My Journey), said that "Abenomics" had caused a spike in prices at high-end soapland bathhouses in Tokyo. However, the same editor tells Shukan Post (June 28) that the initiative is not impacting the low-end market in the same way. (Tokyo Reporter