"Little League Baseball" and "Little League" are registered trademarks of Little League Baseball, Inc. Williamsport, PA 17701, and are used on this site for identification purposes only.
This site is not in any way associated with Little League Baseball Incorporated, its international headquarters, or any individual league. If you're looking for the official Little League Baseball home page, click here. Links to web sites for many individual leagues and districts can be found in the links section of this site.
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(May 2008) -- District tournaments are underway in Japan, and we have begun our coverage of the 2008 Japanese Region tournament -- click for details. If you can provide results or pairings for Japanese tournaments that are not listed on this site, or can provide Japanese tournament results for years prior to 1999, please contact the Unpage. (April 2008) -- We have added more detailed coverage of the 2007 Japanese Region Tournament -- click for details.
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This site has been on the web since May 26, 2002. Click to contact the webmaster with any comments or questions about this page.
Japanese leagues are divided into twelve districts from Hokkaido in the north to Kyushu in the southwest. All-star teams from leagues in each of these districts compete for the right to advance to the Japanese Region tournament, which is held in in early July. The All-Japan tournament, which was first held in 1967, is a sixteen-team, single-elimination tournament. The four districts with the most chartered leagues send two teams to the Japanese Region tournament, while the eight other districts each send one team. Japan was established as a separate region for the international tournament in 2007, meaning that the Japanese champion advances directly to the Little League World Series. In previous years, Japan's winner faced other national champions from the Pacific Rim in region tournament competition.
Click for an overview of the structure of Little League Baseball in Japan.
Nineteen Japanese leagues have participated in the Little League World Series, and six have won the championship. West Tokyo Little League became the first Little League World Series champion from outside North America by defeating Chicago's Roseland North Little League in the 1967 championship game, and Wakayama Little League followed with a title in 1968.
Chofu Little League, a frequent winner of the All-Japan championship in the 1970s, claimed Japan's third Little League World Series title in 1976. Chofu's roster included Daisuke Araki, later a popular professional baseball player and sports commentator in Japan. One of Japan's most revered players during the 1980s, Araki successfully returned from a four-year absence caused by an arm injury to help the Yakult Swallows win the 1993 Japan Series championship. In the process, he became the only player ever to win both the Little League World Series and the Japan Series championships.
Osaka's Hirakata Little League defeated Phenix City National Little League (Alabama) 5-0 in the 1999 World Series championship game, and the Tokyo Kitasuna Little League rallied late to defeat Apopka National Little League (Florida) 2-1 in the 2001 Little League World Series championship game. In 2003, Japan and Florida again met, and Musashi Fuchu Little League from the Tokyo area completed an 18-0 run through the international tournament with a 10-1 victory over East Boynton Beach Little League to claim Japan's sixth Little League World Series championship.
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