Latest Japan News
Dodgers win over Padres in NLDS decider averages 12.9 million viewers in Japan
NEW YORK (AP) — Last Friday's decisive fifth game of the National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres was the most-watched Major League Baseball postseason game on record in Japan, averaging an estimated 12.9 million viewers, according to MLB. ...
Japan records trade deficit on weak yen, slowing exports
TOKYO (AP) — Japan racked up a trade deficit of 294.3 billion yen ($2 billion) in September, according to Finance Ministry data released Thursday, as exports fell to key destinations like China. For the first half of the April to March fiscal year, Japan’s trade deficit, or its...
Aging farmers face extreme temperatures as they struggle to maintain Japan's rice crop
KAMIMOMI, Japan (AP) — In the remote village of Kamimomi in Japan’s western Okayama prefecture, a small group of rice farmers began their most recent harvest in sweltering heat, two weeks sooner than usual. The prefecture is called “the Land of Sunshine” because of its...
That's flippin' amazing! Figure skating Grand Prix season begins with backflips no longer banned
American figure skater Ilia Malinin has been doing gymnastics off the ice much of his life, one of the many reasons why he can so effortlessly land the dazzling quadruple jumps that made him a world champion at just 19 years old last March. It is also why Malinin has been able to so...
Activist Paul Watson asks France for political asylum to avoid possible extradition to Japan
PARIS (AP) — Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson, known for his decades-long fight against Japanese whaling and arrested in Greenland in July, has asked France's president for political asylum, Sea Shepherd France said Wednesday. Watson faces extradition to Japan, where he could be...
Lowriding is more than just cars. It's about family and culture for Mexican Americans
CHICAGO (AP) — For Luis Martinez, competing in lowriding bike and car competitions is about more than glory and bragging rights. The lowrider clubs in the Chicago area have become like one big family and a source of mutual support. “It just starts with the metal,” said...
Campaigning begins for Japan's parliamentary election
TOKYO (AP) — Official campaigning for Japan's Oct. 27 parliamentary election began Tuesday with new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba seeking a mandate for his policies and for reforms after the governing party’s political funds scandal. More than 1,300 candidates were expected to...
Ohtani gives hope to young baseball players in Japan, and the rest of the country, too
TOKYO (AP) — Shin Uebori coaches the Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team in Tokyo, and he is very aware how Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani inspires his players. “With Ohtani, the kids think everything is possible,” Uebori said, wrapping up practice on Sunday on an...
Mets go from rock bottom in May to a playoff roll in October. Dodgers up next in NLCS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The New York Mets hit rock bottom in late May, the nadir being a three-game home sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets fell to a season-worst 11 games under .500 after getting outscored 18-5 in that series, punctuated by reliever Jorge López...
A-bomb survivors use Nobel Peace Prize to share anti-nuke message with the young
TOKYO (AP) — The recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize is a fast-dwindling group of atomic bomb survivors who are facing down the shrinking time they have left to convey the firsthand horror they witnessed 79 years ago. Nihon Hidankyo, the Japanese organization of survivors...
