New Ballpark in Japan Will Bring Viewing from Natural Hot Spring

Fans will be able to root for the Nippon-Ham Fighters (Nippon Professional Baseball) from the comfort of soaking in a natural hot spring up to their necks when its new stadium opens in March 2023.  Read more here.

‘Ham Fighters Getting New Ballpark

The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters (Nippon Professional Baseball) announced Monday a basic design for their new ballpark to be completed in the spring of 2023 as Japan’s second with a retractable roof.  Read more here.

Fighters Choose Kitahiroshima for New Ballpark

The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters (Pacific League, Nippon Professional Baseball) will build their proposed new stadium in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido.  The ballclub, based in the capital of Japan’s northernmost main island, has played at Sapporo Dome since 2004.  Read more here.

Spring Training, Okinawa Style

Compared to that of Major League Baseball, spring training in Japan comes a bit earlier and with a lot of hype on Okinawa.  Last week, all 12 Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB) teams began spring training, with all players reporting to the teams.  Read more here.

Ballpark Opens at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo

Baseball players and fans at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo have something to cheer about: a new ballpark. Yokota Field, a 27-month, Japanese government-funded project that cost more than $10 million, opened Friday with a grand-opening celebration on the base’s east side.  Read more and view photos here.

Japan Baseball: Beer Gals, Organized Cheering and Squid

Like America, Japan loves baseball, maybe even a little bit more than the country that invented it.  And while the game is played the same way, much else about Japanese baseball is incredibly different.  Read more here.

NPB’s Fighters Explore Building New Ballpark

The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters are reportedly considering building a new ballpark in Sapporo or its vicinity.  The team currently plays at the Sapporo Dome on the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan.  Read more here.

Yokohama Stadium Could Host Olympic Baseball

Yokohama Stadium in Naka Ward, Yokohama, Japan, has become a top candidate to host baseball in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, an official source said Monday.  Baseball and softball, which have not been played at the Olympics since 2008, are among the sports that 2020 organizers have nominated for the Tokyo Games in addition to the core Olympic program.  Yokohama Stadium is the home of Nippon Professional Baseball’s DeNA BayStars.  Read more here.

Nippon’s BayStars Acquire Stadium Operator

The DeNA BayStars (Nippon Professional Baseball) will make the operator of Yokohama Stadium its consolidated subsidiary, the Central League team announced Thursday following the completion of the takeover bid a day earlier.  Read more here.

IOC Approves New Sports for 2020 Olympics, Baseball Hopes for Return to Lineup

The International Olympic Committee’s executive board on Monday approved the venues for eight more sports on the 2020 Tokyo Olympic program, but baseball and softball still await the call.  Because of the popularity of the sports in Japan, they are seen as possible favorites to be reinstated in time for the 2020 Summer Games.  Read more here

Three CPL Ballparks to Host USA-Japan International Friendship Series

PRESS RELEASE – The Coastal Plain League announced today that three of its ballparks will host games of USA-Japan International Friendship Series this summer.

Japan Looking to More Professional Baseball to Stimulate Economy?

Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ruling party are apparently open-minded about how to revive Japan’s economy. Sportswriter Seijun Ninomiya told Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers Friday that adding four more teams to Japan’s current 12 could reinvigorate regional economies and keep more Japanese players from signing with U.S. teams.  Read more here.

Japan Funds First-Ever Baseball Facility in Sri Lanka

Uganda was not the only beneficiary of dollars from Japan to build a new baseball facility.  The first-ever baseball stadium in Sri Lanka and also in South Asia was opened recently at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Sports Complex in Diyagama with funds provided under Japan’s Grant Assistance for Cultural Grassroots Projects (GCGP).  Read more here.  View photo gallery here.

Thanks to Grant, Baseball Takes Next Step in Uganda

The Uganda Baseball & Softball Association has received a $120,000 grant from Japan to build the first baseball facility of its kind in East and Central Africa.  A groundbreaking ceremony, which was attended by the Japanese ambassador to Uganda, was held at the construction site in Gayaza last Friday.  Read more here.

Stricter Rules on Deck in Japan to Impede Talent Drain to U.S.

We don’t typically talk about player issues here, but any proposal that could keep foreign players from coming to the U.S. to play baseball is worth a note.  To keep talented players at home, Japanese baseball officials are considering stricter rules for amateur players who bypass the country’s professional leagues to play in Major League Baseball.  Read more here.

Na Koa Ikaika Maui Return From Japan, Owners Talk International Baseball Circuit

PRESS RELEASE – The Valley Isle’s only professional sports team, Na Koa Ikaika Maui, have returned from a successful tour of Japan.

Experiencing Professional Baseball in Japan

Dan Fellner, Special for The Arizona Republic newspaper, recently visited Japan to watch theYomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers at the Tokyo Dome.  He likened the experience to a college football game.  Read more here.  View photo gallery here.

A League of Their Own in Japan

We’ve all heard about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League storied about in the movie A League of Their Own, but did you know that the third season of the Girls Professional Baseball League in Japan will open on March 26 at Kyocera Dome in Osaka?  Read more here.

Finding Normalcy at Japan Ballpark

Seven months after a devastating earthquake and tsunami rocked Japan, baseball fans in Sendai, a city of 1 million located in the Tohoku region in the northeastern part of the country, are finding normalcy at Kleenex Miyagi Stadium, home of the Rakuten Eagles.  Read more here.

Opening Day in Japan

Despite the mega earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan, the professional baseball season kicked off on Tuesday, as the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles defeated the Chiba Lotte Marines 6-4 in front of 22,525 fans at QVC Marine Stadium in Chiba.  Read more here.

Former Carp Home Being Demolished

First Tiger Stadium, now Hiroshima Municipal Baseball Stadium?  We feel your pain, Japan.  Yes, despite protests, the 53-year-old former home of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp is being leveled.  The Carp currently play at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium.  Read more and view photo here.