Society

Hundreds of junior high boys swarm Japanese swimsuit model after first pitch at baseball ceremony

Mar 13 (Japan Today) - With spring finally here, last weekend the Kanto Little League Senior Division, in which junior-high-aged athletes compete, held its opening ceremony. The festivities took place at Jingu Stadium, one of Tokyo's most prestigious baseball venues, and to make things even more special Ami Inamura was present to throw out the first pitch.

The 22-year-old Inamura is a gravure/swimsuit model and media personality, but she wasn't chosen simply for her looks and charm. Inamura played baseball herself in the Kanto Little League's Senior Division where she was her team's captain and starting pitcher. Even now, the Tokyo native often appears in promotions for sports teams and events, and often shows off her batting form during photo shoots.

When Inamura took the mound at Jingu Stadium last Sunday, players from 202 various Kanto Little League teams stood around her in a horseshoe formation. She threw three pitches, with her fastest clocking in at 96 kilometers (59.7 miles) per hour, not far off her personal best of 103.

But while the aim was to get the junior high schoolers in attendance fired up, the promotion apparently worked a little too well. After Inamura threw her third and final pitch, the horde of hundreds of boys started creeping in closer and closer, and within seconds the swarm closed in on Inamura so tightly that she could no longer be seen.

Do Bears Prefer Acorns or Berries?

Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.

Copper Thieves Target Japanese Shrines

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

1200-Year-Old Temple on Miyajima Reduced to Ashes

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

From Bento Boxes to Garbage Bags, Rising Costs Hitting Daily Life Across Japan

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

Tochigi Robbery-Murder Suspect’s Wife Posted Dance Videos on Social Media

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Garbage Burnoff Spreads to 3 Buildings in Okayama

A fire that broke out in Kagamino, Okayama Prefecture, shortly after noon on May 20th destroyed three buildings, including a home, after flames from open burning spread to dead leaves and then to nearby structures.

Gang Members Arrested After Opening Office Near Nursery

Six people, including a senior member of a group affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai crime syndicate's Kohei-ikka faction, have been arrested on suspicion of opening a gang office in a prohibited area near a nursery school in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward.

Six Police Officers Injured After Man Sprays Liquid at Station

A man who visited a police station in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in the early hours of May 21st allegedly sprayed a transparent liquid inside the building, causing six police officers to complain of eye and throat pain and be taken to hospital with minor injuries.