Source: Daily Sports NPB held an emergency meeting on the 12th and reached the decision to loosen the limitations placed on fan attendance at games starting on September 19. A government branch meeting on the 11th determined that it was safe to allow stadiums to be filled to a maximum of 50% of their capacities….
Japanese baseball fans, the wait is almost over. On the same day that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced an end to the nationwide state of emergency, Commissioner Atsushi Saito made an official announcement about the start of the season. All twelve teams will open the 2020 season in empty stadiums on Friday, June 19. This…
Source: Sanspo The Japan High School Baseball Federation held an online meeting on May 20 and determined that the summer tournament, scheduled to be held at Koshien Stadium from August 10, would be cancelled due to the spread of novel coronavirus. This is the third time in history that the tournament has been cancelled, and…
Sources: Daily Sports (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) The Hanshin Tigers returned to the field on Wednesday after nearly three weeks of inactivity. Workouts have been staggered and limited to fewer players than usual. After having three players test positive for COVID-19 at the end of March (off the field), extra precautionary measures are being…
Source: Sponichi Hanshin Tigers pitcher Shintaro Fujinami underwent a PCR test for COVID-19 at an Osaka hospital on March 26, and it came back positive. He is the first NPB player to be diagnosed. In the days prior to his test, he complained of having lost his sense of smell, and went to several hospitals…
Sources: Sanspo / Nikkan All 12 NPB club presidents gathered in Tokyo with a team of experts and have agreed to make preparations to start the regular season on April 24. It was the fourth such gathering, and while the season was first rescheduled to begin on April 10, it has now been determined that…
Sources: Yahoo / Mainichi Nippon Professional Baseball brought representatives from all 12 teams together on the 9th in Tokyo, and have agreed to delay the start of the 2020 regular season, which was scheduled to start on March 20. When asked about when the season might start, league commissioner Atsushi Saitoh said, “We aim to…