Japan enters the World Baseball Classic as the defending champion and the only nation to win the tournament multiple times, capturing three titles. It has not lost a pool-play game since 2013 and is once again the clear team to beat in Pool C. Japan will host a pool for the sixth straight tournament and will look to continue its dominance on home soil.
Players to Watch
Shohei Ohtani is the obvious headliner. The two-way superstar and future Hall of Famer is Japan’s leader. He will only hit during this tournament, but he is far and away Japan’s best hitter and one of the best in the game today. The four-time MVP is coming off another phenomenal season at the plate, hitting .282/.382/.622 with 55 home runs and 110 RBIs. His 55 home runs were a career high, and he also walked a career-best 109 times.
While his 2025 season was not quite as historic as 2024 — when he became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 or more home runs and steal 50 or more bases — it was still elite. He finished second in slugging percentage and wRC+ behind Aaron Judge and third in home runs.
Ohtani was named MVP of the 2023 World Baseball Classic after posting a 1.345 OPS with one home run and eight RBIs while also throwing 9 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts and a 1.86 ERA. In the championship game, he struck out his then-teammate Mike Trout in the ninth inning to clinch Japan’s third title. He will not pitch this time, but as Ohtani goes, Japan goes.
After missing the 2023 WBC because of injury, Seiya Suzuki is set to make his first appearance since 2017. The Chicago Cubs outfielder is coming off a solid season, hitting .245/.326/.478 with a career-high 32 home runs and 103 RBIs. He is expected to start in the outfield.
Munetaka Murakami, whose two-run, walk-off double against Mexico in the 2023 WBC semifinals sent Japan to the final, will again be a key bat.
Despite injuries in 2025, he hit 22 home runs with 47 RBIs and posted a 211 wRC+ in 56 games. Murakami is projected to start at third base before beginning his first season stateside with the Chicago White Sox.
On the pitching side, the unquestioned leader of the staff is Yoshinobu Yamamoto. After an injury-limited debut season, the Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander emerged as one of the top pitchers in the game in 2025. In 173 2/3 innings, he posted a 2.49 ERA with 201 strikeouts.
He elevated his performance in the postseason, recording a 1.45 ERA, including back-to-back complete games against Milwaukee and Toronto. After throwing six innings of one-run ball in a Game 6 win in Toronto, he returned the next night to toss 2 2/3 innings in relief to clinch a second straight World Series title. After being used out of the bullpen during the knockout rounds in the last WBC, Yamamoto is expected to serve as Japan’s ace and could start a pivotal quarterfinal matchup.
Left-hander Hiroya Miyagi is another arm to watch. The 24-year-old starter for the Orix Buffaloes posted a 2.39 ERA in a career-high 150 1/3 innings with 165 strikeouts in 2025. His 1.74 FIP was also a career best.
Miyagi’s fastball typically sits between 90 and 92 mph, but he creates large velocity gaps by pairing it with a mid-50s curveball and a forkball in the low-to-mid 80s. That mix, along with pinpoint command, makes him a difficult matchup, especially for hitters seeing him for the first time. He likely slots in as a long reliever for Samurai Japan.
Hiromi Itoh is another pitcher that will become a familiar name to a global audience when this tournament is over. The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters ace put together his most complete season of his career in 2025. In a career-best 196 2/3 innings, Itoh struck out 195 and posted a 2.52 ERA. The season was good enough to earn him the Eiji Sawamura Award as NPB’s top pitcher in 2025. He will likely be the only starter pitcher for Japan that didn’t spend 2025 in MLB. He should slot in as Samurai Japan’s No. 4 starter.
Japan’s 2026 World Baseball Classic Schedule
March 6 vs. Chinese Taipei
March 7 vs. South Korea
March 8 vs. Australia
March 10 vs. Czechia
Japan’s 2026 World Baseball Classic Roster
Pitchers
Shoma Fujihira (Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles)
Hiromi Itoh (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters)
Yusei Kikuchi (Los Angeles Angels)
Koki Kitayama (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters)
Yuki Matsui (San Diego Padres)
Yuki Matsumoto (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks)
Hiroya Miyagi (Orix Buffaloes)
Taisei Ota (Yomiuri Giants)
Ryuhei Sotani (Orix Buffaloes)
Tomoyuki Sugano (Colorado Rockies)
Chihiro Sumida (Saitama Seibu Lions)
Hiroto Takahashi (Chunichi Dragons)
Atsuki Taneichi (Chiba Lotte Marines)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Catchers
Yuhei Nakamura (Tokyo Yakult Swallows)
Seishiro Sakamoto (Hanshin Tigers)
Kenya Wakatsuki (Orix Buffaloes)
Infielders
Sosuke Genda (Saitama Seibu Lions)
Kaito Kozono (Hiroshima Toyo Carp)
Shugo Maki (Yokohama DeNA BayStars)
Taisei Makihara (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks)
Munetaka Murakami (Chicago White Sox)
Kazuma Okamoto (Toronto Blue Jays)
Teruaki Sato (Hanshin Tigers)
Outfielders
Kensuke Kondoh (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks)
Shota Morishita (Hanshin Tigers)
Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs)
Ukyo Shuto (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks)
Masataka Yoshida (Boston Red Sox)
Designated Hitter
Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Photo: Japan’s Kazuma Okamoto hits a home run during fourth inning of a World Baseball Classic championship game against the United States, March 21, 2023, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
