LOS ANGELES - Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first Japanese player to reach 300 career home runs in Major League Baseball, hitting a solo shot in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies in Los Angeles on July 7.
Ohtani’s 20th home run of the season came in his ninth year in the majors, marking another milestone in a career that has redefined expectations for Japanese players in MLB.
Source: Kyodo
A system failure at frozen food giant Nichirei has disrupted shipments and logistics, raising the risk of product shortages and temporary closures at some Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants while also affecting major supermarket and retail chains.
Officials from the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party have agreed to adopt the Katsuragawa plan for the Obama-Kyoto route of the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension from Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture to Shin-Osaka.
Japan's environment and weather authorities have issued heatstroke alerts for a record 19 prefectures for July 15, warning that dangerous heat is expected to create an extremely high risk of heatstroke, including the first such alerts this year for the Kanto region.
Japan has become an unexpected base of operations for Russian intelligence agents since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, with spies allegedly using the country to procure and smuggle high-tech equipment and other goods to Russia, The New York Times reported on July 12.
Convenience store operators in Japan are strengthening safety measures as bear-related damage grows more serious, with Lawson expanding the use of bear repellent spray and considering drone-based remote monitoring.
Foreign tourists are filling an interactive sumo show venue in Tokyo’s Asakusa district, where former wrestlers introduce the basics, rules and history of the sport in English as Japan’s traditional pastime enjoys growing popularity at home and abroad.
Waseda Jitsugyo held off a ninth-inning rally by Hachioji to win a first-round showdown between two schools with Koshien experience in the West Tokyo high school baseball tournament on July 10.
Japan national soccer team coach Hajime Moriyasu, captain Ko Itakura of Ajax, Daizen Maeda of Celtic, Yukinari Sugawara of Bremen and Japan Football Association President Tsuneyasu Miyamoto visited Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Yohei Matsumoto on July 8 following Japan's campaign at the FIFA World Cup hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first Japanese player to reach 300 career home runs in Major League Baseball, hitting a solo shot in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies in Los Angeles on July 7.
Shonan Galleon, a 210 million yen colt by Flightline, made a striking debut at Hakodate Racecourse on Sunday, July 5, winning the fifth race over 1,800 meters on turf in record time for a 2-year-old on the course.
Two yokozuna seeking to rebound after time away from the ring drew loud cheers from about 5,000 spectators on July 4 as they performed the traditional ceremonial ring entry at Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya ahead of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.
Some names change the game, and Conor McGregor is one of them.
Japan’s World Cup campaign ended in the cruelest possible fashion on June 29, as Gabriel Martinelli scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to give Brazil a 2-1 victory over the Samurai Blue in their knockout match in Houston. Japan had led in the first half and were still level at 1-1 in the final moments, but Martinelli’s late strike sent Brazil into the Round of 16 and eliminated Japan from the tournament.
