Although it is losing the popularity, baseball is still one of the most popular sports in Japan. It was first imported from the U.S., but took a while until it got popularity. Once being popular, baseball became the sport for the Japanese, often defeating sumo.



Baseball was first imported from the U.S. in 1871. It was once popular in 1930s, however, could not stay because of the WWII. After the war, the games were resumed immediately. In the end of 1950s, it started to be broadcasted both on radio and TV. At that time, TV was extremely expensive, and can be seen at rich families or restaurants. A lot of people visited them, and cheered for their favorite teams and players. In the middle of 1960s, its popularity went peek when the oldest professional team, Yomiuri, won the Japan Series for 9 years in row. It was constantly popular until the middle of the 1990s. However, since 1995, its popularity started declining because a lot of popular players left Japan and joined Major League Baseball in North America.



There are two professional leagues in Japan; Central and Pacific Leagues. Each league has six teams. There are two teams in Tokyo; Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome, and Tokyo Yakult Swallows at Jingu Stadium near Shinjuku. Also, there are three others in the surrounding prefectures. Now, tickets are easily available on the day of the game. It still stays popular especially among salarymen. If you go to the game, you are likely to see those salarymen wearing suits and yelling at their favorite team while heavily drinking.