　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　04/12/2016

Ise-Shima Summit

Summit meetings are scheduled to take at the Shima Kanko Hotel Classic on Kashiko Island, Mie Prefecture. | KYODO

Travel

Classic hotel takes center stage at Ise-Shima Summit

by Dave Hueston Kyodo Apr 2, 2016 Article history

The opening to the novel “Karei naru Ichizoku” (The Glorious Family) by the late Japanese author Toyoko Yamasaki describes the splendid twilight descending upon Ago Bay in the Shima Peninsula, when the sun begins to tilt and the tide is full. And in a brief moment when all the sky is ablaze, the passage continues, the sky above Ago Bay and the sea below blend into the crimson color of a brilliant flame. This is the surreal backdrop of the Shima Kanko Hotel Classic, the stage of the Ise-Shima Summit taking place May 26-27 on Kashiko Island in the southern part of the peninsula in Mie Prefecture. Opened on a hill in 1951 as the first large-scale Western-style resort after World War II, the luxury hotel anticipated the development of the tourism industry there after the Shima Peninsula was designated Ise-Shima National Park on Nov. 20, 1946.

Japanese people had been traveling to the region for years before the war to take part in the Shikinen Sengu ceremony, or the dismantling and rebuilding of the Ise Grand Shrine every 20 years, but it was Captain Walter Popham of GHQ’s civil information and educational section who played a significant role in the region’s designation as a national park. The close relationship with Ise Grand Shrine — the country’s preeminent shrine — appeared to influence him. “Before the war, especially in 1929, there were a lot of people who came for the Ise Shikinen Sengu, and from then the tourist industry began,” said Mie Gov. Eikei Suzuki in a recent press conference at the Mie Prefectural Government Office. According to the governor, before the war there was a movement to designate the area Shima National Park but this was rejected by the Interior Ministry as being short-sighted. “Popham went to the Jingu Kannamesai Festival at Ise Grand Shrine (located northwest of Shima in the city of Ise) in October and was so impressed with the beauty he saw there, he said if the name is Ise-Shima National Park we will recognize it,” Suzuki said. Kashiko Island, which has an area of just 0.62 square kilometers and a circumference of 7.3 kilometers, is the largest of the many scattered islands in the deeply indented coastline that is teeming with pearl-cultivation rafts. It was uninhabited until 1929, when the Shima Electric Railway (now the Kintetsu Shima Line) was constructed there with the aim of becoming a sea version of Karuizawa, the famous mountain resort in Nagano Prefecture. With a population of 101, the island with its picturesque vistas and “fruits of the sea” has become a central location for some 10 million visitors per year. Ise-Shima National Park is 96 percent private land, making it the most settled population of all 30 designated national parks in the country. The harmony of human activity with nature is the emphasis for the summit, Suzuki said. The Kyuikirin forest that surrounds both the Inner and Outer shrines of Ise Grand Shrine is 5,500 square hectares. It is Japan’s largest shrine grove, verdant with everything from Chinese witch hazel to Jingu azaleas. Wild animals such as boar, flying squirrels and monkeys also abound there.

“You can really see how closely (nature) is linked to the people’s daily lives. This summit is all about the daily lives surrounding the people,” Suzuki said.

Shima Kanko Hotel Classic, which is currently being refurbished, was designed by architect Togo Murano, who also led the renovation of the Akasaka Palace where visiting state dignitaries stay in Tokyo. When they gather at the hotel, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S. will likely discuss global economic stability and other pressing issues, such as Africa’s development. Emperor Hirohito (posthumously Showa) stayed at Shima Kanko Hotel Classic five times and was even inspired when overlooking the scenery from Ago Bay to write a poem about the landscape. Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace of Monaco, the former Hollywood actress, stayed there in 1981. Yamasaki often wrote from her favorite room at the hotel and her novel “Karei naru Ichizoku” was made into a movie and filmed there. The G-7 leaders are expected to stay at the posh Bay Suites annex, which houses 50 suites, all of 100 square meters or more. There are around 50,000 pearls that adorn curtains and other objects inside, including a chandelier in the vestibule decked out with 9,000 pearls. They will also be treated there to French cuisine at the La Mer restaurant, featuring local seafood such as the Ise-Ebi lobster and black abalone steak. From a garden on the building’s fifth-floor roof, the saw-toothed coastline can be viewed from 360-degrees. On a clear day, the location is said to be one of the 100 best locations to view the sunset in the country. An overnight stay for two people, including breakfast, at the Bay Suites starts from about ¥50,000 per person. “I’d like the guests to see this complicated and beautiful landscape of Ago Bay and the oyster-cultivation rafts floating there, and if when the weather is good to enjoy the sunset here,” said Shima Kanko Hotel General Manager Akira Minamiura. Kintetsu Inc. offers a “Mawaryanse” unlimited “super passport” for limited-express trains for visitors traveling both to the Ise-Shima region with free admission to a number tourist sites. The ticket is ¥9,800 for adults and ¥5,300 for children. Services on the Kintetsu Shima Line are expected to be suspended from about a week before the summit for security reasons between Ugata Station and Kashikojima Station, both in the city of Shima. Shima Kanko Hotel is just 300 meters from Kashikojima Station.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault (front right) and European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini (front left) are seen with (rear, from left to right) Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, German political director Andreas Michaelis and Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni. They were attending the first session of the Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting in the city of Hiroshima on Sunday. | POOL/AFP-JIJI

National / Politics

Terrorism, refugee flood, North Korea nuclear threat on G-7 foreign　minister meeting agenda in Hiroshima

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　by Ayako Mie Staff Writer Apr 11, 2016 Article history

HIROSHIMA – The Group of Seven foreign ministers’ meeting kicked off Sunday in the city of Hiroshima, paving the way for the G-7 leaders’ late-May summit in Mie Prefecture. At the end of the two-day meeting, foreign ministers from Japan, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union are expected to adopt a communique, as well as the Hiroshima Declaration, which will aim for a nuclear weapons-free world, and a statement regarding maritime security. The meeting and the statements will set the stage for the G-7 summit scheduled for May 26 and 27 in Ise-Shima, Mie Prefecture. A total of 11 related meetings will be held in Japan through September, including a gathering of G-7 finance ministers and central bank governors in Sendai immediately before the summit. On the first day of their meeting, the ministers discussed global concerns such as terrorism and refugee issues. Terrorism is the most imminent threat to Europe, which has been a frequent target of attacks, notably by the Islamic State extremist group. Last November, Islamic State launched a series of shooting and bomb attacks in Paris, in which 130 people were killed. The group also claimed responsibility for two other attacks in Brussels last month. In those attacks, 32 people died. Brussels came under fire after miscommunications and other errors failed to prevent the country’s deadliest-ever terrorist attack. Belgian authorities admitted they missed an alert from Turkish authorities about Ibrahim El Bakraoui, one of the Brussels suicide bombers, who was arrested on suspicion of terrorism activities last year in Turkey and later deported to the Netherlands. The Belgian prosecutor’s office said El Bakraoui’s brother, Khalid, who along with Ibrahim also detonated a suicide belt at Brussels Airport, had been on the run since December in connection with the Paris attacks. These acknowledgements underscore that the European Union and the global community need better coordination to fight terrorism.

The G-7 foreign ministers denounced the indiscriminate killings by terrorists and agreed to lead global cooperation to fight violent and extremist attacks. Japan’s foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, also said that G-7 nations should complement each other by utilizing their competitive edge in fighting terrorism and dealing with the refugee crisis, another big concern for European Union nations. Although Germany has found itself one of the biggest destinations of refugees, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was absent from the first day’s meetings because his flight was delayed in China. Ministers also talked about the Middle East and regional security in Asia, including in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. Kishida said the G-7 foreign ministers all agreed it is important to abide by international laws. Kishida also said the ministers had “heated discussions” about North Korea. They condemned the North’s escalating provocations, including its nuclear test in January and the launch of a satellite-carrying long-range rocket in February, which many regarded as an ICBM test. The ministers denounced the action and vowed to work together. For Kishida, a third-generation Lower House lawmaker from Hiroshima, one of the main events of the meeting will take place Monday when he hosts the dignitaries during a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. This is the first time G-7 foreign ministers and nuclear powers, including the United States, France, and Germany, will visit the museum. They will also lay floral tributes at the cenotaph located inside Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Kishida has repeatedly said he hopes to bring global leaders to Hiroshima to drive home the reality of the atomic bomb. To this end, he hopes to bridge differences between the world’s nuclear and nonnuclear powers by adopting the Hiroshima Declaration on Monday. But any declaration is unlikely to mention “the inhuman aspect of atomic bombs,” something Japan has emphasized for a long time.

Last year, when Japan proposed a U.N. resolution including such a phrase, the U.S., Britain and France abstained from casting their votes. In an interview with the Chugoku Shimbun, a Hiroshima daily, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. supports a world without nuclear weapons. Yet he said the U.S. will pursue the goal by taking what he referred to as realistic and pragmatic measures. Kerry added that it is critical to find methods to make progress on nuclear disarmament to reduce the risk to America, its allies and the entire human race. Meanwhile, as this is the first time G-7 meetings have been held in Asia in eight years, and Japan is the only G-7 member from the region, Kishida hopes to take the initiative in talking about territorial issues, including disputes centering on the South China Sea, where Beijing has carried out massive land reclamation projects and deployed radar and surface-to-air missiles. Without naming China, the statement on maritime security, which is likely to be adopted Monday, is expected to say countries should abide by international court rulings in dealing with territorial disputes. In the coming month, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is expected to issue a ruling over the territorial dispute between the Philippines and China. Beijing has expressed concern about Japan, which it sees as siding with other Southeast Asian nations that are at odds with China regarding the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. After talking with Steinmeier on Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said bringing up the South China Sea issue at the Hiroshima conference will offer no solutions but only affect regional stability.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry puts his hand on Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida’s back after they and their fellow Group of Seven foreign ministers laid wreaths at the cenotaph at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Monday. Also pictured (left to right) are EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini, Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. | POOL / AP

National / Politics

G-7 ministers adopt Hiroshima Declaration hoping to add momentum to nonproliferation movement

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　by Ayako Mie Staff Writer Apr 11, 2016 Article history

The Group of Seven foreign ministers concluded a historic two-day meeting in Hiroshima on Monday that saw them discuss the goal of global nuclear disarmament in the first city destroyed by an atomic bomb. The meeting was a victory for the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were A-bombed just days apart toward the end of the war in August 1945, and a feather in the cap of Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who is rumored to want Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s job. Kishida’s success in bringing U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to Hiroshima may pave the way for a similar visit by President Barack Obama when the G-7 summit is held in Mie Prefecture next month. The meeting ended with Kishida’s adoption of a joint communique, a Hiroshima Declaration and two other statements on maritime security and nonproliferation. The four statements reflect global concerns including terrorism, North Korea’s escalating provocations, maritime security in the South China Sea and the G-7 members’ commitment to work toward a world without nuclear weapons. The adoption of the Hiroshima Declaration is especially symbolic for Hiroshima and Nagasaki at a time when global momentum for getting rid of the world’s nuclear arsenals is low, especially after the collapse of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference last year. “This is the first time for the G-7 countries to get together to unanimously adopt a statement on nuclear disarmament after the NPT Review Conference, which I think is significant and will revive the momentum for disarmament,” Kishida said at the concluding news conference. The foreign ministers not only experienced what Kishida calls “the reality of the atomic bomb” by visiting Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Atomic Bomb Dome, but also offered floral tributes at the cenotaph in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. “Going through this museum was a reminder of the indisputable truth that war must never be the first resort. It must be the last resort, the utter failure of all diplomacy,” said Kerry, who became the first sitting U.S. secretary of state to visit an A-bomb site. “It was a reminder for all of us why these meetings and relationships matter so much. The peaceful, stable international systems we’ve built in the decades since World War II are not a given, not automatic.” The much-expected Hiroshima Declaration, which said the G-7 countries “share the deep desire of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that nuclear weapons never be used again,” reflects Kishida’s so-called five principles, the five pillars of the speech he made at the NPT Review Conference last April at the United Nations. The principle includes transparency of nuclear force, deeper reduction of all types of nuclear weapons, common recognition of the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, and the visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki by political leaders and youths. The statement emphasizes the importance of the NPT, called for a ban on nuclear test explosions, and demands that all states “sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty without delay and conditions,” although the U.S. itself has not yet done so. “We welcome the efforts taken by the nuclear-weapon States in the G-7 that have enhanced transparency,” the statement said. The statement was a step forward in that they included the part that encouraged “political leaders” like the G-7 foreign ministers and “other visitors” to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was a proposal made by Japan last year at the NPT Review Conference that was removed from the statement due to staunch opposition from China. Yet the reactions as to how the statement describes the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were divided. While the Hiroshima Declaration says those cities “experienced immense devastation and human suffering as a consequence of the atomic bombings,” it does not mention “humanitarian consequences,” one of the Kishida principles. But Japanese government officials stressed the wording was stronger than the Kishida principles. “It is a concession to the United States,” said Gregory Kulacki, senior analyst and China project major at the global security program of Union of Concerned Scientists. Kulacki said that “humanitarian consequences” clearly refers to a convention to ban nuclear weapons, which the major nuclear powers, including the United States, are against. In February, Japanese Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament Toshio Sano said adopting a nuclear ban treaty is still premature given the security situation and because the countries who possess nuclear weapons did not take part in the meeting of a U.N. working group of nuclear disarmament. Naoki Iwatsuki, a professor of international law at Tokyo-based Rikkyo University, also said the word “humanitarian” carries a connotation of condemnation. “They used more neutral words by choosing ‘human suffering,’ ” said Iwatsuki. “If they really wanted to show the commitment to nuclear disarmament, they could have used the word ‘humanitarian.’ ” The G-7 foreign ministers’ meeting was a curtain-raiser for the G-7 summit scheduled for May 26 and 27 in the Ise-Shima region in Mie Prefecture. The biggest global concern raised at the foreign ministers’ meeting and will be discussed at the G-7 leaders’ summit is counterterrorism, at a time when extreme militant groups such as Islamic State are staging brutal terror acts. To lay the groundwork for the leaders’ summit, the communique said the G-7 countries are working on “a G-7 action plan on international counter terrorism that will include concrete measures to enhance G-7 and international counterterrorism efforts.” That plan is to be adopted at the summit next month. Kishida said the foreign ministers had a very candid and heated discussion about security in Asia, which Kishida worked to bring to the table as the only Asian member of the G-7 and for the first G-7 summit in Asia in eight years. As for North Korea, the statement said they condemn “in the strongest terms” the North’s fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, followed by the launch of a long-range satellite which many claimed was a cover for a long-range missile. It was an upgrade from last year’s communique, which only said that “we strongly condemn North Korea’s continued development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.”

The G-7 foreign ministers also adopted a statement on maritime security, which reportedly raised such heated discussions among the foreign ministers that they ran out of time. This was the second year for the G-7 to issue a separate statement, but their concerns were more pronounced this year, by calling on “the peaceful management and settlement of maritime disputes” in good faith and in accordance with international law, including civil arbitration. The statement also said G-7 ministers are “concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas,” and expressed strong opposition to “any intimidating, coercive or provocative unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions,” citing land reclamation efforts. The statement or Kishida during the news conference made no mention of China, as G-7 countries do not want to provoke Beijing by blatantly pointing out that it has been conducting major land reclamation projects, and has deployed radar and surface-to-air missiles in the South China Sea. Yet the mention of the arbitration court was timely as the international arbitration court in The Hague is expected to announce a ruling over the territorial dispute between the Philippines and China in coming months. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday said bringing up the South China Sea issue at the Hiroshima conference would offer no solutions but only damage regional stability.

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrive for a joint news conference at the White House on April 28, 2015. The Nikkei reports that Obama plans to visit Hiroshima next month. | REUTERS

National / Politics

Obama to visit Hiroshima, make anti-nuclear speech: Nikkei

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　by Reiji Yoshida Staff Writer Apr 22, 2016 Article history

U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to make a historic visit to Hiroshima on May 27, a Japanese business newspaper reported Friday. It said he will make a speech in the city calling for the abolition of nuclear arms. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga stopped short of confirming the Nikkei’s report on Friday, but chose his words carefully. Such a visit would make history in several ways. No serving U.S. president has gone to Hiroshima, held back in part by conservatives who argue that Washington ought not to show regret for the bombing just over 70 years ago. The Nikkei, formally known as Nihon Keizai Shimbun, cited unnamed high-ranking U.S. officials for its report. It said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will accompany Obama on the visit. Obama is set to attend the Ise-Shima Group of Seven summit meeting in Shima, Mie Prefecture, on May 26 and 27. He plans to travel to Hiroshima immediately afterward, the Nikkei said. Questioned about the report on Friday, Suga said Tokyo and Washington are not jointly discussing any plan for Obama to visit Hiroshima. Where Obama travels while in Japan is a matter for the U.S. side alone, he said. “I will refrain from commenting,” he added. However, Suga said Tokyo believes that if any world leader were to visit Hiroshima to learn about the suffering caused, it “would bear great importance for our country, which is aiming for a world without nuclear weapons.” A marked silence by Japanese officials on the potential visit, which has long been rumored, appears to reflect understanding that it would be greatly sensitive — both in Japan and in the U.S. A 2015 survey by Pew Research Center showed 56 percent of Americans believe the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified, while only 14 percent of Japanese believe so. This sentiment gap has made any visit by the American leader to Hiroshima a potential powder keg. The atomic bomb hit Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. City officials say about 140,000 citizens died either in the blast or from injuries or radiation sickness by the end of December that year. On Aug. 9, the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people.

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Tigers vs Giants

The Tigers' Shun Takayama strokes a two-run single off the Giants' Aaron Poreda in the sixth inning at Tokyo Dome on Tuesday. Hanshin defeated Yomiuri 8-2. | KYODO

Baseball / Japanese Baseball

Tigers rookie Takayama pounds out four hits in rout of Giants

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　by Jason Coskrey Staff Writer Apr 5, 2016 Article history

The latest matchup between two of the oldest teams in Japan saw two of the youngest players on the field shining brightest under the lights at Tokyo Dome. Hanshin Tigers pitcher Shintaro Fujinami did it with both his arm and his legs, and rookie outfielder Shun Takayama left his mark in his first appearance in the old Central League rivalry as Hanshin beat the Yomiuri Giants 8-2 in front of a crowd of 44,532 on Tuesday night at the Big Egg. Fujinami held the Giants in check for eight innings, allowing two runs and striking out 12. He didn’t have his best control early on but settled in as the game wore on and kept the Giants hitters off-kilter. “Today, I was able to be be effective with my breaking pitches, my cutter and forkball especially,” Fujinami said. “I mixed my pitches well and just followed (catcher Ryutaro) Umeno’s lead.” The 21-year-old also finished with a single, drew a walk and showed off his base-running skills in scoring two runs. “That was a little unexpected,” Fujinami said of his third-inning single. “I’m just glad I was able to put the ball in a good place.” Takayama, the Tigers’ heavily-hyped, 22-year-old rookie, finished with four singles and drove in two runs. “It was a very good night for me,” Takayama said. “Anytime I can get four hits, especially against the Giants, it’s a big thrill.” He was drafted to much fanfare last fall and hasn’t disappointed. He hit .327 during the spring and has carried that form into the regular season, hitting .333 with a home run and seven RBIs in his first 10 regular-season games. He didn’t miss a beat on Tuesday, stepping into the Giants-Tigers fray for the first time. “It’s a great start for him,” said Tom O’Malley, one of the Tigers’ hitting coaches. “It doesn’t seem to faze him. He’s relaxed in big situations, and I think that helps. He’s got a good demeanor and good composure. It was a great game for him.” Not even the prospect of going up against former major leaguer Aaron Poreda, who has a good fastball, could shake the rookie. “I didn’t change my approach,” Takayama said. “I had prepared for that.” Veteran Kosuke Fukudome also recorded a pair of RBIs. Shintaro Yokota, a 21-year-old, and Tsuyoshi Nishioka each finished with one RBI. The Tigers did a lot of the little things right on the basepaths to put themselves in favorable situations and reaped the benefits. The result gives Tigers manager Tomoaki Kanemoto the advantage over his counterpart Yoshinobu Takahashi in the battle of rookie skippers. Hanshin also got off to a winning start against Poreda, a pitcher the club didn’t have much luck against in 2015. Poreda made eight starts against Hanshin last season, coming away with five victories. He was hit early and often in their first meeting in 2016, allowing eight runs on eight hits over six innings. Poreda struck out five, walked three, and was called for a balk with the bases loaded in the sixth. The Giants didn’t do much on the offensive end either, coming up with just six hits. Takehiro Donoue drove in a run with a solo home run and Garrett Jones finished 1-for-3 with an RBI single. The Tigers started the scoring in the bottom of the first, taking an early lead on an RBI single by Fukudome. Yomiuri’s Hisayoshi Chono swung at the first pitch he saw in the bottom half of the inning and connected on a single. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on a flyout by Hayato Sakamoto. A single by Jones evened the score at 1-1. Fujinami singled to begin the third, then went from first to third on a single by Takayama. Fujinami later scored the tiebreaking run on an infield single from Yokota. The next batter, Matt Hague, drew a walk to load the bases, and Fukudome connected on a sacrifice fly to bring in a run. The Tigers scored again when Giants catcher Seiji Kobayashi made an errant throw into center field while trying to prevent Hague from stealing second. The Tigers were back at it in the sixth. Mauro Gomez drew a one-out walk and stole second. He went to third on a single by Takashi Toritani and scored on a hit by Nishioka. Fujinami drew a walk that loaded the bases later in the inning, and Poreda was called for a balk to bring in another run. Takayama then connected on a two-run single to make the score 8-1. The two teams will return to Tokyo Dome on Wednesday for the second game of their three-game set. The Tigers will send lefty Minoru Iwata to the mound as they try to earn a fourth straight victory. Ace Tomoyuki Sugano will toe the rubber for the Kyojin, who will be looking to avoid their first losing streak of the season. Hanshin would move into first place with a victory. “That would be great if we can win again tomorrow and go into first place,” Takayama said. “But it’s still very early in the season.”

The Tigers' Randy Messenger is congratulated by teammates moments after his two-run single in the fourth inning against the Giants on Thursday at Tokyo Dome. Hanshin defeated Yomiuri 10-1. | KYODO

Baseball / Japanese Baseball

Tigers pounce on Giants youngster Taira, reliever Tsuchida

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Kyodo Apr 7, 2016 Article history

Randy Messenger and the Hanshin Tigers welcomed Kentaro Taira to the big time on Thursday in a comprehensive 10-1 Central League victory over the front-running Yomiuri Giants. Messenger (1-1) allowed a run in eight innings. The veteran right-hander gave up seven hits and a walk, while striking out four and driving in two runs with a single. He surrendered a leadoff double to open the first, but weathered the first storm. “My last couple of outings I hadn’t pitched that well in the first inning. Getting out of that jam was a confidence builder,” Messenger said. Taira, making his CL debut, allowed four runs on four hits and three walks in 3-2/3 innings, while striking out four. Former big leaguer Kosuke Fukudome broke the ice against Taira in the fourth with a two-run homer. Taira, a 20-year-old taken in the fifth round of the 2013 draft, had allowed a leadoff single but nothing else until issuing a one-out walk to Matt Hague in the inning. Fukudome followed by barreling a high 1-0 fastball into the seats in right to make it 2-0. After a two-out walk by Takashi Toritani and a single by Tsuyoshi Nishioka, the Giants elected to pitch around the No. 8 hitter to get out of the inning against Messenger. The big Tigers pitcher fell behind in the count but battled from behind in the count, fouling off a pair of two-strike pitches before running the count full and singling between first and second. Messenger said he was thrilled to get a chance to hit and do some damage, and had to work overtime since Taira pitched him away as if he were a threat to pull the ball over the wall. When he did bat, Messenger was so locked in he forgot the count and tried to take first base on ball three. He had a big grin on his face as the umpires summoned him back to the batter’s box. “I was happy to get a chance to hit,” he said. “I’m still a ballplayer and I want to hit, want to compete. I fouled off so many pitches I lost track. (On ball three) I thought that’s a walk, ‘Sweet.’ But it worked out OK. Sure enough he left a pitch up in the zone and I was able to get the bat on it.” Reliever Mizuki Tsuchida got Yomiuri out of the fourth inning, but got beaten up in the fifth, when six of the first seven batters reached base and five scored. Mauro Gomez singled in one, while a sacrifice fly by Toritani made it 6-0. Catcher Taichi Okazaki doubled in two and a wild pitch made it 9-0. Messenger held off the hosts in the fifth after they opened the inning with a leadoff single and a double, but finally surrendered a run in the sixth on three Giants’ singles. Luis Cruz cashed in with his one-out flare over short bringing in the runner from third. “I just kept busting them in with high fastballs trying to get them to pop them up and it worked out like that,” said Messenger, who got seven pop-ups to his infielders, twice with less than two outs and a runner on third.With both teams substituting liberally, Taiga Egoshi, who replaced Fukudome in right, homered to open the Tigers’ ninth.

Baseball / Japanese Baseball | HIT AND RUN

Tigers rookie Takayama having early success in NPB

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　by Jason Coskrey Apr 8, 2016 Article history

As Deanna Rubin, proprietor of the website Marinerds and an avid follower of high school and college baseball in Japan, pointed out Tuesday, Shun Takayama, the Hanshin Tigers’ rookie outfielder, didn’t just come out of nowhere. He was a hit machine as a high schooler at Tokyo’s Nichidai Daisan, for whom he homered and drove in five runs in the 2011 Summer Koshien final, and in college for Meiji University. There was, after all, a reason the Tigers were so pleased to have acquired him in the 2015 draft, and that Swallows manager Mitsuru Manaka was so outwardly excited when he thought Yakult had won Takayama’s rights. So, with that in mind, it’s not too surprising to see Takayama have early success. At the same time, while Takayama, 22, was expected to have some level of polish, certainly more than fellow 2015 first-rounder Louis Okoye, who was drafted out of high school by the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, he’s still turned heads. The Tigers plugged the rookie into the leadoff role from Day 1, and his approach at the plate has been solid and produced good results. “When I’m at the plate, I’m just trying to give it my all,” Takayama told The Japan Times Thursday at Tokyo Dome. The rookie has shown a mature approach at the plate and isn’t overextending himself, instead approaching his at-bats focused on doing what’s needed rather than going for the big splash each time. While he hasn’t been perfect, and been prone to strike out, he’s been very, very good. “He’s got a good idea at the plate,” said Tom O’Malley, one of the Tigers’ hitting coaches and a former Central League MVP and batting champion. “He’s got the natural ability. A lot of times with young hitters, you see them swinging at a lot of bad pitches, but he’s got discipline, he makes things happen. He’s not a type that walks, but he puts the ball in play and makes good contact. “Especially with as young as he is, he’s been awful impressive. I know what he did in college, but this is a little different level. But you can tell, he knows what he’s doing at the plate. I think the more he learns the pitchers, the more he gets an idea of the patterns, he’s going to be a tough out, I mean, he is now.”

Takayama had 53 plate appearances during the spring and hit .327 with a .744 on-base plus slugging percentage. Since Opening Day, when the games, and the stats, began to count, he’s hit .316, with three doubles, a triple and a home run in 12 contests (entering Friday). His OPS is .784 over that span. “He’s got some skills, that’s for sure,” O’Malley said. “He’s got good bat control, he’s got a little pop in his bat. He’s fun to watch. He’s not your prototypical leadoff hitter, but he gets on base. He’s been a big asset so far.” Of course, “so far” hasn’t been that long. Takayama is competing against professional players and coaching staffs now. Professionals make adjustments, and opposing teams will search for any weakness to be exploited. The young star will have to make his own tweaks in order to remain far enough ahead of the curve to continue to be effective. That said, he already seems to have the necessary tools. “I’ve seen him hit balls like Ichiro,” O’Malley said. “A couple of them have bounced, and he’s put them in play. So obviously he’s got great hand-eye coordination. I’m not trying to compare him to Ichiro, but I’ve seen some of his swings have been similar. He’s got some pop in his bat too. He’s got a lot of good attributes.” Takayama is off to a good start, and with another solid-looking youngster, 20-year-old Shintaro Yokota, hitting second in the order, not to mention 21-year-old pitching ace Shintaro Fujinami, the Tigers’ youth movement is giving fans something to be excited about. Even if Takayama doesn’t seem all that excited himself just yet. “My goal this year is to just continue to become a better hitter and player,” Takayama said. It’s that type of attitude, combined with the physical gifts, that has O’Malley seeing a bright future ahead for the rookie outfielder. “He doesn’t get too high or too low,” O’Malley said. “He’s got a good temperament. You have to have that. But he’s still got the confidence to be able to go out and do what he knows he can do.”

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