News On Japan

Ohtani hits come-from-behind two-run homer

May 17, 2021 (NHK) - In Major League Baseball, Ohtani Shohei, the Japanese two-way player for the Los Angeles Angels, has hit a come-from-behind game-deciding two-run homer.

Ohtani batted in the third spot as a designated hitter in an away game against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

In the ninth inning, Ohtani stepped into the left-hand batter's box for the fifth time, with the Angels trailing by one run, with two outs and a runner on first. He drove the more than 150-kilometer-per-hour first pitch off Red Sox closer Matt Barnes to the right-field stands.

This was Ohtani's 12th home run of this season. He is now tied for the American League lead in homers.

The Angels beat the Red Sox 6-5, snapping their four-game losing streak.

Ohtani said he thinks Sunday's home run is the most important in his MLB career and it was a huge victory for his team.

Ohtani also talked about leading the league's home run race, while performing as a two-way player. He said he has only had slightly more than 10 home runs so far and not much time has passed since the season started. He said he will fine-tune his condition to improve his performance, as his batting has not been in top shape.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has drawn criticism over a social media post describing five hours of sleep as a rare luxury, as the extended Diet session prepares to begin Upper House debate on a controversial bill to establish secondary capitals outside Tokyo.

Japan began applying a new numerical alcohol threshold for dangerous driving offenses on July 21, introducing a clearer standard for cases involving impaired driving that could lead to fatal accidents.

Breathtaking 4K footage filmed from a helicopter offers a sweeping aerial view of Mount Fuji and its majestic surrounding landscape.

A covert network of shuttle tankers is carrying crude through the increasingly dangerous Strait of Hormuz as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran disrupts shipping and raises concerns over how Japan will secure the oil it needs.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has criticized moves by Japanese and Ukrainian companies to cooperate on drone technology, warning that such ties would be regarded by Moscow as a "clear hostile act."

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

A 27-year-old police officer arrested after crashing into a utility pole in Hiroshima was found to have been driving under the influence, with a blood test detecting nearly three times the legal alcohol limit.

A police officer fired a warning shot into the air after a 42-year-old woman approached officers while pointing a kitchen knife at them on a street in Eniwa, Hokkaido, on July 17.

A 45-year-old man was arrested early July 20 after allegedly crashing a passenger car into a convenience store in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and walking around the parking lot carrying a kitchen knife and a golf club.

A 42-year-old man was arrested after allegedly driving under the influence and intentionally ramming a motorcycle in Togitsu, Nagasaki Prefecture, leaving its rider seriously injured.

More than a dozen people were injured after a massive rope suddenly snapped during a tug-of-war at a festival in Kitami, Hokkaido, sending participants falling backward onto an asphalt road.

A public housing complex in Aichi Prefecture where about 70% of households are occupied by foreign residents is showing signs of improvement after introducing multilingual communication, foreign-led neighborhood activities and a 3,000-yen fine for residents who skip community cleaning duties.

A fire that broke out at the long-established Echigo Tsurukame sake brewery in a densely populated residential district of Niigata City on July 19 destroyed the brewery and spread to at least six nearby homes, with firefighters still unable to declare the blaze fully extinguished by noon on July 20.

Two people found dead in a collapsed home following a landslide in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, have been identified as a married couple in their 60s who lived at the property, city officials said.