 Kyodo News

 The Merits and Demerits of the "Friends Cabinet

 The Orix finished the regular season in third place in the Pacific League and lost to Nippon Ham in the first stage of the Climax Series. However, a "lax atmosphere" is said to be prevailing among the fielding staff.

Orix Turmoil: Lax Attitudes, a Gentle Manager, and Young Players Rebelling Against Their Captain

 Yuji Yanagawa (Nonfiction writer)

 Masaki Fujioka

 Masahiro Tateishi, an infielder at Soka University, said at a press conference after the draft, "As a baseball fan, I can't wait to meet Mr. Fujikawa. After being selected as the first overall pick in the 2025 Hanshin Draft, he talked about his current feelings, the players he admires, and his future goals.

Soka University Masahiro Tateishi: The Relentless Competitor Behind Hanshin’s Top Draft Choice

 Sports Hochi/Afro

 Rintaro Sasaki of Stanford University was the first overall pick by Softbank. It is said that his wish is to play in the major leagues. What are Sasaki's true feelings and what career path will he choose? We interviewed the president of his management company.

Where Will Rintaro Sasaki Go? CEO Speaks on His Real Thoughts and Career Path

 Even Higashihama...

 The Giants, who have suffered the humiliation of losing the Climax Series two years in a row rather than winning the Central League for the second year in a row, have a plan to "over-hunt" for starting pitchers. What does it entail? ......

Giants Aim for Triple Signing of Maeken, Norimoto, and Yanagi After Kuwata’s Exit

 Soichi Hayashi (nonfiction writer)

 Takeshi Kinugawa

 Junjin Nakatani vacated his WBC/IBF bantamweight title to challenge Naoya Inoue (32), aka "The Monster. What is Nakatani thinking before his strongest opponent? We interviewed him directly!

Junto Nakatani Plots a Naoya Inoue Hunt with a Hit-Free Fight Strategy

 Mineko Miwa

 Nagoya Asian Para Games Organizing Committee, Aichi, Japan

 Soaring material costs and rising prices are hitting international sporting events as well. The construction of the athletes' village for next year's Asian Games is in trouble. The solution was container houses. This is the so-called "mobile athletes' village.

Rising Costs, Material Shortages—And the Mobile Athletes&#8217; Village Changing the 2026 Asian Games

 Kotaro Tajiri

 Ryoji Shigemasa

 He was out of the lineup in September, but returned just before the Climax Series.

 Kenta Imamiya of SoftBank hit 100 homers and hit 400 sacrifice hits. Manager Kokubo said, "I don't think there will be another player who achieves this feat. Imamiya, a slugger with a promising future, overcame his setbacks and ......

Kenta Imamiya Hits 400 Sacrifice Bunts—Here’s the Strategy That Saved His Career

 SoftBank's Tomohisa Ozeki has made a leap forward this season by becoming an ace-level pitcher. He began studying sports psychology at a time when his performance was sluggish. He carries a notebook with him at all times to keep his mind organized. And he has found what he is looking for. ......

How Does He Win With a 140 km/h Fastball? SoftBank’s Tomohisa Ozeki and His Sports-Psychology Mind Notebook

 Yuji Yanagawa (nonfiction writer)

 Kei Kato

 Hitomi Nakajima attracted a lot of attention when she competed in her first World Championships in Athletics at the age of 30! Late-blooming heroine of the women's 100m hurdles world

 Hitomi Nakajima, a women's 100m hurdler, is one of Japan's most popular athletes, having broken her own personal best this year at age 30 and also competing in the World Championships in Athletics for the first time in September. Here she shares her thoughts on being a "late bloomer.

Hitomi Nakajima’s World Championships Debut Features Flashy Makeup and Sweet-and-Spicy Styling

 The only things he could move on his own were his eyes and fingers. Last July, after undergoing laser surgery for a herniated disc, Beijing Olympics judo gold medalist and mixed martial artist Toshi Ishii was bedridden. He confessed the circumstances of his medical trouble.

Beijing Olympic Judo Champion Reveals He Was Prepared for Death After a Medical Mishap

 Overcoming great opposition: ......

 Manager Kyuji Fujikawa is in charge of the Hanshin team, which unexpectedly lost four straight games and missed the top spot in Japan for the first time in two years. In fact, he was at odds with his coaches over the use of pitchers in the second game, the watershed game of the series. The inside story is available at .......

Hanshin Manager Fujikawa &#8220;clashes with coaches&#8221; in Japan Series&#8230;triggered by &#8220;Duplantier&#8217;s arbitrary appointment in Game 2&#8221;.

 Hopeless to get a seeding on the U.S. Tour, failing to qualify for domestic tournaments and finishing in a booby finish: ......

 Shibuno has been playing four consecutive rounds on the domestic tour since October. The result was a tie for 47th place, a humiliating booby finish. He also continued to struggle on the U.S. Tour, failing to qualify for 11 of 22 tournaments, half of which were on the U.S. Tour. Cinderella smile again: ......

Hinako Shibuno Still Stuck at Rock Bottom—When Will the Cinderella Smile Come Back?

 KLPGA, MHN Sports

 Lee Yoo-ring, a 23-year-old rising star, won the first place after winning "five playoffs" and showed an innocent smile on the podium. On the podium, she showed an innocent smile. We take a closer look at the true face of this new heroine.

Teammate of the Sexy Queen Claims First Victory! The Fresh, Innocent Smile of Korea’s New Golf Heroine Revealed

 Courtesy of Angel City FC

 Fast dribbler for Nadeshiko Japan playing in the U.S. NWSL League

 The trademark pink hair and flamboyant fashion of Jun Endo, midfielder of Japan's women's national soccer team, are the talk of the town on her Instagram. Endo is known as the "Lady Gaga of the women's soccer world. Behind her flamboyance is a serious injury. ......

From Struggle to Style: Jun Endo on Finding Herself Through Fashion

 He opened his private gym equipped with a world title match ring and six sandbags!

 Jyunjin Nakatani, who decided to challenge Naoya Inoue and vacated his WBC/IBF bantamweight title, has been training himself in two "tiger pits" in Japan and the United States. He says, "Without a doubt, this is the strongest opponent I've faced in my career, and it will be a fight that will test me." He will be a test for me.

Ex-Bantamweight Champion Nakatani Says He Can Go Beyond Naoya Inoue

 Kenta Imamiya of SoftBank has hit a total of 400 sacrifice hits. With his powerful swing, he also hit 100 homers, an accomplishment not only in the history of Japanese baseball, but also in other countries. Imamiya, who had a promising future as a slugger, overcame setbacks and ......

SoftBank&#8217;s Kenta Imamiya, who sacrificed 400 runs, found his professional path in hitting for the connection.

 Ai Takagi (1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th), Shuichi Masuda (3rd, 6th, 7th)

 In this issue of Playback, we take a look back at what this magazine was reporting 10, 20, and 30 years ago. In this issue, we report on the victory celebration of the Hanshin Tigers team that won the league championship in 2005. What was the night in Ginza when the big tiger howled?

Playback &#8217;05] &#8220;Reverse Photography&#8221; and &#8220;Skirt Flipping&#8221;&#8230;A Frenzied Night in Ginza, Where the Tiger Nine Turned into Big Tigers.

 AFLO

 From a season of poor performance, Shohei Ohtani turned things around and became the MVP of the championship series by striking out 10 and hitting 3 home runs as the "No. 1 pitcher!

 Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on October 18 was truly Shohei Ohtani's own stage. Local reporters called it the best performance ever. Finally, Ohtani, a pitcher with maximum output, is getting closer to becoming the best in the world for the second year in a row.

Shohei Ohtani Captivates the World With His Dedication and Dominant Two-Way Play, Earning First World Series MVP

 Yuji Yanagawa

 I play Smash Bros. in my off time.

 The protagonist of the 2025 professional baseball draft is Masahiro Tateishi, a second baseman at Soka University. What did the superstar of the college baseball world, who is inevitably in contention, have to say just before the draft?

Soka University&#8217;s Masahiro Tateishi, who is inevitably going to compete in the draft, reveals his &#8220;too modest face.

 Both sides of the argument make sense. ......

 Okamoto of the Giants had been rumored to be posting for a major league team this offseason, but now reports have surfaced that he is staying with the Giants. What is the team's intention behind it?

Okamoto’s Future Sparks Rift Between Abe and Giants’ Management

 Creative 2/Afro (1st photo) Arifumi Taguchi

 In the post-season, he set his fastest time in the Majors at 163.2 km/h.

 In the postseason, Akinori Sasaki is playing like a different person than he did in the regular season. Both his pitch speed and control have improved dramatically. What is the reason for his awakening? A motion analysis expert explains from a series of photos of his form.

Roki Sasaki’s Form Unlocks the Key to Becoming the Team’s Guardian

 Too cool to do what he says!

 The incident that proved that the driving force behind Shota Morishita of the Hanshin baseball team, who has assumed the title of "CS Man," is his "steel mentality," took place this summer.

Shota Morishita’s Steel Nerves Drive Him Through Off-Field Rumors

 After 16 years with the Giants and Hiroshima, Hisayoshi Nagano has announced that he will attend graduate school, and the Giants front office cannot hide their impatience.

Giants Executives Flustered as Hisayoshi Nagano Chooses Graduate School Over Coaching Role

 Kobayashi is a "veteran who can defend.

 Takuya Kai, 32, a catcher for the Giants, was signed to a five-year, estimated ¥1.5 billion contract by SoftBank, but his first year with the Giants ended with an injury.

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