Tag: robert
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Frankly Speaking – Interview with the Transpacific Forum of Japan Air Lines
by Robert Whiting (1987) — “Frankly Speaking…”, published by Gatewood Press for Japan Air Lines When Admiral Perry reached Japan the word for “sport” didn’t exist in Japanese. Today half of all Japanese consider themselves baseball fans, and the annual high school baseball tournaments dominate the nation’s television attention. According to Robert Whiting, author of…
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Japan Does Pop Culture
by James Bailey (May 2, 2009) — Merced Sun-Star American pop culture exported to Japan has a long tradition of losing something in translation. The Denny’s restaurants in this Far Eastern country serve Chinese tan-tan noodles, but no Grand Slam breakfasts, and Shakey’s offers dessert pizza topped with peach slices. But for a taste of…
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If You Still Wanna Have Wa
by Dan Sloan (Jun 2009) — Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan Back in 1977 veteran Club member Bob Whiting crafted a whole new genre of serious Japanese reportage with his seminal book The Chrysanthemum and the Bat, which provided his insights as a fan of Japanese baseball into how that sport reflected Japanese culture. Twelve…
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Personality Profile: Robert Whiting
by Vivienne Kenrick (Nov 12, 2000) — The Japan Times For the last 50 years Japan has come under intense Western scrutiny from many quarters. Scholars, writers, professional men and women in different pursuits have contributed observations and analyses of Japanese thoughts and lifestyles and behavior. Bob Whiting crafted a way of his own to…
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Around the Horn: Interview with Ichiro
by Robert Whiting (Nov 11, 2002) — TIME Magazine TIME sent author ROBERT WHITING to find out Seattle Mariner ICHIRO SUZUKI’s take on Japan’s player drain, the future of U.S. baseball and his own hyped-up image. Robert Whiting: You were the best player in Japan when you played with Orix, yet your games were seldom…
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Best-selling author Robert Whiting talks baseball, gangsters, bribes and more
by Mark Schreiber (Apr 4, 2004) — The Japan Times Back in 1972, a 30-year-old New Jersey native who had recently graduated from Tokyo’s Sophia University was in New York City, trying to talk to anyone who would listen about politics and life in Japan. Nobody was interested. “It was only when I started talking…
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NPB players in need of strong union like MLBPA
by Robert Whiting (Apr 14, 2007) — Last of four parts Last of four-parts. Another reason why a merger is unlikely to manifest itself is Major League Baseball’s new interest in China, where the Yankees may play Opening Day in 2008. That country’s huge untapped market and the apparent willingness of Chinese officials to cooperate…
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NPB needs major reform, vision to prosper like MLB
by Robert Whiting (Apr 13, 2007) — Third of four parts This is the third installment in a four-part series. Nippon Pro Baseball’s fragmented structure is a system that worked for a long time. Like the Liberal Democratic Party and the Yamaguchi-gumi, it suited the postwar economy. Now, however, with tighter economic conditions and new…
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Foreign managers change face of Japanese game
by Robert Whiting (Apr 12, 2007) — Second of four parts This is the second installment in a four-part series. The game is changing on both sides of the Pacific, as it becomes more globalized. Roughly one-quarter of the players are Latino now, as the teams have stepped up their international recruiting. Japanese players, too,…
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Is the MLB destroying Japan’s national pastime?
by Robert Whiting (Apr 11, 2007) — First of four parts Best-selling author Robert Whiting, who has penned such classics as “You Gotta Have Wa,” “The Chrysanthemum and the Bat” and “The Meaning of Ichiro,” has written an exclusive four-part series for The Japan Times on the effect Major League Baseball is having on the…
