Baseball is one of the most popular spectator sports in Japan. There are 12 professional baseball teams, six in the Central League and six in the Pacific League.

The teams in each league play about 140 games each during the season, at the end of which the two league winners meet in the Japan Series. In recent years, more and more Japanese players have been moving to the United States to play in Major League Baseball.

Two of the most famous are Suzuki Ichiro and Matsui Hideki.