JAPAN

Baseball is probably the most popular in Japan. Yakyu, as baseball is called in Japanese, was introduced from the United States during the early Meiji Period.

There are two professional baseball leagues in Japan: the Central League and the Pacific League, each consisting of six teams. Games are broadcast live on during the season. Furthermore, there is a large number of university and high school baseball teams. The finals of the high school baseball tournaments, in particular, are very popular and are broadcast nationwide.