he Pacific. In spite of the continuing escalation of the war, the 1942 schedule went back to 104 games. In 1943, the schedule reverted to 84 games. In 1944, the schedule was drastically reduced to 35 games and only six teams. The 1945 season was never played. Within nine months of the beginning of the Allied occupation, Japan's pro leagues were back in business with eight teams playing 105 games each. General Information About Japanese BaseballAmateur BaseballJapan is, arguably, the word-wide center of amateur baseball, in the sense that so many people play baseball here. Softball is played in Japan but it far less popular among men than baseball. The total number of softball and baseball players in Japan is probably about even however, since there appears to be many more womens' softball teams than baseball teams. The most popular form of baseball is "nanshiki" which uses a light rubber ball with dimples so that it resembles a large golf ball with the traditional raised seams of a baseball. The ball is a little harder to catch (because it is so light, it has a tendency to pop out of the glove). It is very popular with town and city leagues as well as with many youth and company leagues. The focus of amateur baseball is on industrial league, college, and especially high school ball. High School BaseballEvery year there are national high school baseball tournaments in the spring and in the summer and the fall. In the spring and summer, epresentative high schools from around the country converge on Koshien Kyujo in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture. Every aspect of the tournaments, from the opening ceremony to the award ceremony is televised nationally. The fall tournament, is held in Tokyo's Jingu Kyujo and receives scant attention. The teams in the spring tournament are invited to attend and represent their district. It has been rumoured that, in the past, some schools' booster organizations offered cash to influence officials involved...
