Japan national baseball team
Information
Country Japan
FederationBaseball Federation of Japan
ConfederationBaseball Federation of Asia
ManagerHirokazu Ibata
WBSC ranking
Current 1 Steady (18 December 2023)[1]
Highest1 (8 times; latest in December 2021)
Lowest3 (December 2012)
Uniforms
Japan's national baseball uniform
World Baseball Classic
Appearances6 (first in 2006)
Best result 1st (3 times, most recent in 2023)
Olympic Games
Appearances6 (first in 1992)
Best result 1st (1 time, in 2020)
WBSC Premier12
Appearances2 (first in 2015)
Best result 1st (1 time, in 2019)
World Cup
Appearances15 (first in 1972)
Best result 2nd (1 time, in 1982)
Intercontinental Cup
Appearances15 (first in 1973)
Best result 1st (2 times, most recent in 1997)
Asian Games
Appearances7 (first in 1994)
Best result 1st (1 time, in 1994)
Asian Championship
Appearances25 (first in 1954)
Best result 1st (17 times, most recent in 2017)

The Japan national baseball team (野球日本代表, Yakyū Nippon Daihyō or Yakyū Nihon Daihyō), also known as Samurai Japan (侍ジャパン), is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, and 2023 as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.[1]

The team has participated in every Summer Olympic Games since the first demonstration tournament in 1984, through when baseball was discontinued following the 2008 Beijing Games. Until 2000, the team was made up exclusively of amateur players. Since the 2000 Summer Olympics, the team has been composed of players from Nippon Professional Baseball. The team that played in the 2006 World Baseball Classic included Japanese players from Major League Baseball as well.

The team won the 2006 Classic. It played at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, as it had qualified through the Asian Baseball Championship in 2007. Unlike the WBC roster, the Olympic team was composed exclusively of NPB players (though it included one amateur player, who was drafted during the tournament's progress). Japan participated in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, finishing third.

Team Japan won the 2019 WBSC Premier12 Tournament. At the Olympics in 2021 it faced Israel, Mexico, South Korea, the United States, and the Dominican Republic, and won gold. At the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Japan was able to defeat the defending champion United States to become the champions. Their 2023 win was their third World Baseball Classic championship, and have the most championships.

Current roster

Source:[2]

Japan roster – 2023 World Baseball Classic roster
PlayersCoaches
Pitchers
 Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

 Manager

Coaches


Nickname

The team has been nicknamed "Samurai Japan" (侍ジャパン).[4] Like other national teams in Japan, the nickname is usually prefixed with the surname of the manager. However, in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, the team used Samurai, a symbol of Japan's history, instead of Hara, the surname of their manager. In 2012, it was adopted officially.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of professional baseball match results currently active in the latest version of the WBSC World Rankings, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.[5]

Legend

  Win   Lose   Void or postponed   Fixture

2019

Friendly March 9 Mexico  4–2  Japan Kyocera Dome, Japan
Boxscore
Friendly March 10 Mexico  0–6  Japan Kyocera Dome, Japan
Boxscore
Friendly August 28 Japan  15–2  France Hall de Saint-Exupery, France
Boxscore
Friendly August 30 Japan  22–0  France Gymnase Maréchal, France
Boxscore
Friendly August 31 Japan  15–5  France Templiers Stadium, France
Boxscore
Friendly September 1 Japan  6–7  France Templiers Stadium, France
Boxscore
Friendly September 1 Japan  18–8  France Templiers Stadium, France
Boxscore
Asian Championship GS October 15 Japan  2–0  Chinese Taipei Douliu Stadium, Taiwan
18:30 TST Boxscore
Asian Championship GS October 16 Hong Kong  0–15 (F/5)  Japan Taichung Field, Taiwan
18:30 TST Boxscore
Asian Championship GS October 17 Sri Lanka  0–15 (F/5)  Japan Taichung Field, Taiwan
12:00 TST Boxscore
Asian Championship SR October 18 China  1–11 (F/7)  Japan Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
12:00 TST Boxscore Attendance: 346
Asian Championship SR October 19 South Korea  3–11  Japan Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
12:00 TST Boxscore Attendance: 362
Asian Championship F October 20 Chinese Taipei  5–4  Japan Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
18:30 TST Boxscore
WBSC Premier 12 GS November 5 Venezuela  4–8  Japan Taoyuan Stadium, Taiwan
18:00 Boxscore Attendance: 3,868
WBSC Premier 12 GS November 6 Puerto Rico  0–4  Japan Taoyuan Stadium, Taiwan
18:00 Boxscore Attendance: 4,209
WBSC Premier 12 GS November 7 Japan  8–1  Chinese Taipei Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
18:30 Boxscore Attendance: 20,465
WBSC Premier 12 SR November 11 Australia  2–3  Japan ZOZO Marine Stadium, Japan
19:00 Boxscore Attendance: 17,819
WBSC Premier 12 SR November 12 United States  4–3  Japan Tokyo Dome, Japan
19:00 Boxscore Attendance: 27,827
WBSC Premier 12 SR November 13 Mexico  1–3  Japan Tokyo Dome, Japan
19:00 Boxscore Attendance: 31,776
WBSC Premier 12 SR November 16 South Korea  8–10  Japan Tokyo Dome, Japan
19:00 Boxscore Attendance: 44,224
WBSC Premier 12 F November 17 South Korea  3–5  Japan Tokyo Dome, Japan
19:00 Boxscore Attendance: 44,960

2021

2020 Summer Olympics GS July 28 Dominican Republic  3–4  Japan Azuma Stadium, Japan
12:00 JST LP: Jairo Asencio
 Boxscore WP: Ryoji Kuribayashi
2020 Summer Olympics GS July 31 Japan  7–4  Mexico Yokohama Stadium, Japan
12:00 JST WP: Masato Morishita
Sv: Ryoji Kuribayashi
HR: Tetsuto Yamada (1), Hayato Sakamoto (1)		 Boxscore LP: Juan Pablo Oramas
HR: Joey Meneses (1)
2020 Summer Olympics R2 August 2 United States  6–7 (F/10)  Japan Yokohama Stadium, Japan
19:00 JST LP: Edwin Jackson
HR: Triston Casas (2)		 Boxscore WP: Ryoji Kuribayashi
HR: Seiya Suzuki (1)
2020 Summer Olympics SF August 4 South Korea  2–5  Japan Yokohama Stadium, Japan
19:00 JST LP: Go Woo-suk
 Boxscore WP: Hiromi Itoh
Sv: Ryoji Kuribayashi
2020 Summer Olympics F August 7 United States  0–2  Japan Yokohama Stadium, Japan
19:00 JST LP: Nick Martinez
 Boxscore WP: Masato Morishita
Sv: Ryoji Kuribayashi
HR: Munetaka Murakami (1)

2022

Haarlem Week GS July 8 Japan  1–0  Curaçao Mulier Stadium, Netherlands
15:30 CET Boxscore
Haarlem Week GS July 9 United States  0–1 (F/8)  Japan Mulier Stadium, Netherlands
13:00 CET Boxscore
Haarlem Week GS July 10 Cuba  3–4  Japan Mulier Stadium, Netherlands
19:30 CET Boxscore
Haarlem Week GS July 12 Japan  9–0  Italy Mulier Stadium, Netherlands
12:00 CET Boxscore
Haarlem Week GS July 13 Netherlands  0–5  Japan Mulier Stadium, Netherlands
19:30 CET Boxscore
Haarlem Week SF July 14 Netherlands  2–1  Japan Mulier Stadium, Netherlands
19:30 CET Boxscore
Haarlem Week 3rd July 15 United States  5–1  Japan Mulier Stadium, Netherlands
14:00 CET Boxscore
Friendly November 9 Australia  1–8  Japan Sapporo Dome, Japan
Boxscore
Friendly November 10 Australia  0–9  Japan Sapporo Dome, Japan
Boxscore

2023

World Baseball Classic GS March 9 China  1–8  Japan Tokyo Dome, Japan
19:00 JT LP: Wang Xiang (0–1)
 Boxscore WP: Shohei Ohtani (1–0)
HR: Shugo Maki (1)		 Attendance: 41,616
Umpires: HP – Stu Scheurwater, 1B – Cuti Suarez, 2B – Ben May, 3B – Delfin Colon
World Baseball Classic GS March 10 South Korea  4–13  Japan Tokyo Dome, Japan
19:00 JT LP: Kwang-hyun Kim (0–1)
HR: Yang Eui-ji (2), Park Kun-woo (1)		 Boxscore WP: Yu Darvish (1–0)
HR: Kensuke Kondo (1)		 Attendance: 41,629
Umpires: HP: Laz Díaz, 1B: Stu Scheurwater, 2B: Delfin Colon, 3B: Cuti Suárez
World Baseball Classic GS March 11 Czech Republic  2–10  Japan Tokyo Dome, Japan
19:00 JT LP: Ondřej Satoria (0–1)
 Boxscore WP: Rōki Sasaki (1–0)
Sv: Hiroya Miyagi (1)
HR: Shugo Maki (2)		 Attendance: 41,637
Umpires: HP: Ben May, 1B: Ramon De Jesus, 2B: Cuti Suárez, 3B: Fabrizio Fabrizzi
World Baseball Classic GS March 12 Japan  7–1  Australia Tokyo Dome, Japan
19:00 JT WP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1–0)
HR: Shohei Ohtani (1)		 Boxscore LP: Will Sherriff (0–1)
HR: Alex Hall (1)		 Attendance: 41,664
Umpires: HP – Pat Hoberg, 1B – Cuti Suárez, 2B – Adam Hamari, 3B – Chan-Jung Chang
World Baseball Classic QF March 16 Italy  3–9  Japan Tokyo Dome, Japan
19:00 NST LP: Joe LaSorsa (0–1)
HR: Dominic Fletcher (1)		 Boxscore WP: Shohei Ohtani (2–0)
HR: Kazuma Okamoto (1), Masataka Yoshida (1)		 Attendance: 41,723
Umpires: HP – Pat Hoberg, 1B – Laz Díaz, 2B – Delfin Colon, 3B – Cuti Suárez
World Baseball Classic SF March 20 Japan  6–5  Mexico loanDepot Park, United States
19:00 ET Boxscore
World Baseball Classic F March 21 United States  2–3  Japan loanDepot Park, United States
19:00 ET LP: Merrill Kelly (0–1)
HR: Trea Turner (5), Kyle Schwarber (2)		 Boxscore WP: Shōta Imanaga (1–0)
Sv: Shohei Ohtani (1)
HR: Munetaka Murakami (1), Kazuma Okamoto (2)		 Attendance: 36,098
Umpires: HP – Lance Barksdale, 1B – John Tumpane, 2B – Edward Pinales, 3B – Ramiro Alfaro, LF – Jong Chui Park, RF – Quinn Wolcott

Regional competition

Asian Baseball Championship

Japan have dominated the Asian Baseball Championship since its inception, and have competed in every year. Japan have never missed out on placing in the top 3 in any tournament, and is the only team to have achieved this feat. Japan also holds the record for most consecutive Asian Championships, having won four times in a row on two occasions.

Asian Games

In all four Asian Games to include baseball, Japan have placed in the top 3 in every tournament, though they have only won the tournament once in the first event held in Hiroshima in 1994.

International competition

2009 World Baseball Classic finals. Kenji Johjima and Yu Darvish
World Baseball Classic Championship Trophy

World Baseball Classic

2006

Japan won the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic, defeating Cuba in the Final.

2006 WBC roster

2009

Japan also won the 2009 World Baseball Classic, hosting the Pool A games in the Tokyo Dome. Japan started the tournament opener with a 4–0 win over China. Japan then secured advancement into the second round with a 14–2 win in seven innings over arch-rival South Korea. The game was shortened due to the WBC's mercy rule. Japan then played South Korea again to determine seeding for the second round. In the rematch, the Koreans shut out Japan 1–0, making Japan advance as the Pool A runner-up. In Pool 1 of the WBC quarter-finals, Japan defeated Cuba 6–0, but lost to Korea again 4–1. In the elimination match that followed, Japan secured a spot in the semi-finals with a 5–0 win over Cuba. Japan defeated South Korea in the Finals 5–3 partly because of an Ichiro Suzuki base hit in the 10th inning.

2009 WBC roster

2013: The end of the championship streak

Japan, the two-time world defending champions, entered the 2013 World Baseball Classic, hosting Pool A games in the Fukuoka Dome, facing off against Cuba, China, and newcomers Brazil. Despite their first loss against the Cuban team, they secured their position for the second round in 2013 World Baseball Classic Pool 1 to face off the Netherlands and Chinese Taipei. The Japanese team narrowly won against Chinese Taipei 4–3, before proceeding to face off against the Dutch team, winning against them twice before proceeding to the semi-final round, along with the Netherlands, as they faced off against Puerto Rico. Despite Japan's efforts, they eventually lost 3–1 against the Puerto Rican team right after Alex Ríos scored two additional runs from a home run. Japan finished third in the 2013 WBC, as their two-time championship streak ended. The Japanese team bowed out to both the crowd and the Puerto Rican team as a gesture of respect.

2013 WBC roster

2017

In the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Japan hosted Pool B games in the Tokyo Dome. They finished first round play with a 3–0 record and advanced to the second round.[6] After batting .364, outfielder Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh was named the Pool B MVP.[7] In the second round, Japan hosted Pool E games in the Tokyo Dome and again finished pool play with a 3–0 record, advancing to the championship round. However, Japan lost to the United States 2–1 in the semifinal. They finished the tournament in third place. Pitcher Kodai Senga was named to the All-World Baseball Classic Team.

2017 WBC roster

Olympic Games

2008

2008 Summer Olympics roster

2021

Baseball is being featured at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, for the first time since the 2008 Summer Olympics.[8] Six national teams are competing in the tournament: Israel, Japan (host), Mexico, South Korea, the United States, and the Dominican Republic. It will be held from July 28 to August 7, 2021.[9]

2020 Summer Olympics roster

Baseball World Cup

Intercontinental Cup

Premier12 Tournament

2015

Team Japan came in third in the 2015 WBSC Premier12 Tournament.

2019

Team Japan won the 12-team 2019 WBSC Premier12 Tournament, which was held from November 2 to 17, 2019.[10]

International tournament results

World Baseball Classic

World Baseball Classic record Qualification record
Year Round Position W L RS RA W L RS RA
Japan United States 2006 Final Gold 1st 5 3 60 21 No qualifiers held
Japan United States 2009 Final Gold 1st 7 2 50 16 No qualifiers held
Japan United States 2013 Semifinal Bronze 3rd 5 2 44 27 Automatically qualified
Japan United States 2017 Semifinal Bronze 3rd 6 1 47 24 Automatically qualified
Japan United States 2023 Final Gold 1st 7 0 56 18 Automatically qualified
Total 3 titles 5/5 30 8 257 106 - - - -

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics record Qualification
Year Host Round Position W L RS RA
1964 Japan Exhibition only 0 1 2 6
1984 United States Finals 1st [lower-alpha 1] 4 1 33 11
1988 South Korea Finals 2nd [lower-alpha 1] 4 1 27 17
1992 Spain Bronze Match 3rd 6 3 70 22
1996 United States Finals 2nd 5 4 77 59
2000 Australia Bronze Match 4th 4 5 42 29 1999 Asian Baseball Championship
2004 Greece Bronze Match 3rd 7 2 60 23 2003 Asian Baseball Championship
2008 People's Republic of China Bronze Match 4th 4 5 36 28 2007 Asian Baseball Championship
2020 Japan Gold Match 1st 5 0 25 15 Host
Total [lower-alpha 2] 6/6 31 19 310 176
  1. 1 2 No medals awarded; tournament was a demonstration sport only
  2. ↑ Totals only include years 1992 to 2008 and 2020, during which baseball was an official medal sport.

Baseball World Cup

   

Intercontinental Cup

 

Asian Baseball Championship

     

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "The WBSC World Ranking". WBSC. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "2023 List of Players Announced on 3/1/2023". Japan Baseball. Baseball Federation of Japan (BFJ). March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Kuribayashi was removed from the roster due to injury on March 14, 2023, after all Pool B matches in the World Baseball Classic were done, immediately replaced w/Yamazaki from the quartdrfinal.
  4. ↑ "Samurai Japan sets roster for 2013 World Baseball Classic". 21 February 2013.
  5. ↑ "Japan in the WBSC Ranking (Men's baseball)". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "World Baseball Classic: Cuba, Japan advance to 2nd round" – CBC Sports – Baseball – MLB
  7. ↑ "Tsutsugoh named MVP of WBC '17 Pool B". MLB.com.
  8. ↑ 野球・ソフトボール 競技紹介. Olympics.com (in Japanese). Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  9. ↑ オリンピックスケジュール&結果 – 野球・ソフトボール. Olympics.com (in Japanese). Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Two teams from WBSC Premier12 2019 to qualify for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Baseball". WBSC.org. December 19, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
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