Sasaki set to retire

Sasaki set to retire

TOKYO, Japan - Yokohama BayStars pitcher Kazuhiro Sasaki (file photo) has decided to draw the curtain on his illustrious career which includes stints in Japan and the major leagues, baseball sources said Aug. 7. Sasaki has a career record of 43-38 with 252 saves in Japan and 7-16 with 129 saves in the majors. (Kyodo)

Abductee's kin urges Abe's leadership to rescue missing from N. Korea

Abductee's kin urges Abe's leadership to rescue missing from N. Korea

Shigeo Iizuka, leader of a group of families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea, speaks to reporters in Ageo, Saitama Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, on Oct. 7, 2015, in response to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet reshuffle earlier in the day. Iizuka expressed dismay that appointees to the post of minister in charge of the abduction issue keep changing and that previous ministers have failed to take decisive action during their short stints. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Prime Minister Abe becomes sixth longest serving Japanese leader

Prime Minister Abe becomes sixth longest serving Japanese leader

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe enters his office in Tokyo on May 20, 2015, becoming the sixth longest serving postwar Japanese leader having been in power for a total of 1,242 days over his first and second stints in office. He told reporters, "The important thing is what I have achieved, rather than how long I have stayed in office." (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Prime Minister Abe becomes sixth longest serving Japanese leader

Prime Minister Abe becomes sixth longest serving Japanese leader

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe enters his office in Tokyo on May 20, 2015, becoming the sixth longest serving postwar Japanese leader having been in power for a total of 1,242 days over his first and second stints in office. He told reporters, "The important thing is what I have achieved, rather than how long I have stayed in office." (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Rugby: Goromaru says he will "start all over" with Yamaha

Rugby: Goromaru says he will "start all over" with Yamaha

Japan fullback Ayumu Goromaru (R) takes part in a Yamaha Jubilo training session in Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, on July 3, 2017. Goromaru returned to his former Top League club for the season beginning in mid-August after brief stints at Queensland Reds in Australia and Toulon in France. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Rugby: Goromaru says he will "start all over" with Yamaha

Rugby: Goromaru says he will "start all over" with Yamaha

Japan fullback Ayumu Goromaru takes part in a Yamaha Jubilo training session in Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, on July 3, 2017. Goromaru returned to his former Top League club for the season beginning in mid-August after brief stints at Queensland Reds in Australia and Toulon in France. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Osaka man recalls airport used by army for pilot training, suicide stints

Osaka man recalls airport used by army for pilot training, suicide stints

Atsuo Yokoyama shows on the map the place of an airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, used for a year by the Imperial Japanese Army to train fighter pilots toward the end of World War II, at his home in the neighboring city of Sakai on May 19, 2015. The airport was also used for training pilots on suicide missions. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo