Japan Series facts for kids

The Japan Series (also called the Nippon Series) is the biggest baseball championship in Japan. It's like the World Series in North America, but for Japanese baseball. This exciting event happens every year in late October or early November.

It's a "best-of-seven" series. This means two teams play against each other, and the first team to win four games becomes the champion. The Japan Series champion is known as the "number one in Japan" (日本一 (Nippon Ichi)).

The two teams that play in the Japan Series are the winners of Japan's two main baseball leagues: the Central League and the Pacific League. They battle it out to see who is the best team in the country.

The home team for games 1, 2, 6, and 7 changes each year. If the year ends with an odd number, the Pacific League team gets the home advantage first. If it's an even number, the Central League team starts at home. Sometimes, a special rule called the "designated hitter" is used. This happens when the Pacific League team is the home team.

Teams have a limit of 40 players they can use during the postseason. Also, if a game is tied after 12 innings, it's called a draw. If the entire series is tied after seven games, they play an eighth game. This has only happened once, in 1986, when the Seibu Lions beat the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. If the eighth game is also a draw, they keep playing games until one team wins four.

Every team currently in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league has won the Japan Series at least once. The team with the most championships is the Yomiuri Giants, who have won 22 times!

For a while, the Pacific League had a special playoff system. This meant their champion had to wait longer for the Japan Series. During this time, the Pacific League won four championships in a row from 2003 to 2006. Since 2007, both leagues use a playoff system called the Climax Series to decide their champions. This system gives a big advantage to the team with the best record in each league.

The longest game in Japan Series history happened on November 6, 2010. The Chunichi Dragons and Chiba Lotte Marines played for 15 innings, ending in a 2–2 draw. The game lasted 5 hours and 43 minutes! Another long game was in 2022, lasting over 5 hours.

Even though the Central League has won more titles overall, the Pacific League has been catching up. The Central League has 38 titles, and the Pacific League has 37. The Pacific League won eight championships in a row from 2013 to 2020. Six of these were won by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. This winning streak ended in 2021 when the Tokyo Yakult Swallows won.

Japan Series Champions: A Look at the Winners

Kazuhisa Inao is a special case. He won the Fighting Spirit Award in 1956, even though his team, the Nishitetsu Lions, won the series!

Extra Innings: How Games End

Since 2018, games in the Japan Series (up to Game 7) can only go for 12 innings. If the score is still tied after 12 innings, the game ends in a draw.

For games beyond Game 7 (like Game 8 or more), the rules have changed over time.

• From 1987 to 2020, these extra games could go on forever until a winner was decided.
• Since 2021, even these extra games have a 12-inning limit.
• If an extra game goes past 12 innings, they use a special tiebreaker rule. This rule is from the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It starts with two runners already on first and second base at the beginning of the inning. This makes it easier for teams to score and end the game.

Teams with the Most Wins

This table shows which teams have won the Japan Series the most times.

¹The team now called the Saitama Seibu Lions won 3 times and lost 2 times as the Nishitetsu Lions. ²The team now called the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won 2 times and lost 8 times as the Nankai Hawks. They also won 2 times and lost 1 time as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. ³The team now called the Orix Buffaloes won 3 times and lost 7 times as the Hankyu Braves. They also won 1 time and lost 1 time as the Orix BlueWave. They became the Orix Buffaloes in 2005 after joining with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. ⁴The team now called the Chiba Lotte Marines won 1 time as the Mainichi Orions. They lost 1 time as the Daimai Orions, and won 1 time and lost 1 time as the Lotte Orions. ⁵The team now called the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters won 1 time as the Toei Flyers. ⁶This team won 1 time as the Yokohama Baystars and 1 time as the Taiyō Whales. ⁷The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes joined with the Orix BlueWave in 2005 to form the Orix Buffaloes. ⁸The Shochiku Robins joined with the Taiyō Whales in 1953. This team eventually became the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

League Wins: Central vs. Pacific

Winning Streaks and Long Waits

• The Yomiuri Giants hold the record for the longest winning streak. They won nine Japan Series championships in a row from 1965 to 1973!
• The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks have the second-longest streak, winning four times in a row from 2017 to 2020.
• Other teams have won three championships in a row: the Yomiuri Giants (1951–1953), the Nishitetsu Lions (1956–1958), the Hankyu Braves (1975–1977), and the Seibu Lions (twice: 1986–1988 and 1990–1992).

Some teams have had to wait a long time between championships:

• The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes never won a Japan Series in their entire history (1950–2004).
• The Chunichi Dragons waited 51 years between wins (1955–2006).
• The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters waited 42 years (1963–2005).
• The Hiroshima Toyo Carp have not won since 1984 (1985–2024).
• The Yokohama DeNA BayStars waited 36 years (1961–1997).
• The Hanshin Tigers waited 37 years (1986–2022).
• The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks waited 33 years (1965–1998).
• The Chiba Lotte Marines waited 30 years (1975–2004).
• The Tokyo Yakult Swallows waited 27 years (1950–1977).

Individual Awards

At the end of the Japan Series, two special awards are given to players:

• The Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) goes to the player who had the biggest impact on the winning team.
• The Fighting Spirit Award is given to the player who had the biggest impact on the losing team. As mentioned before, Kazuhisa Inao is the only player to win the Fighting Spirit Award while on the winning team!

See also

In Spanish: Serie de Japón para niños

• Nippon Professional Baseball
• Asia Series