Coaches

Players

Sports Hochi is reporting that the coaching staff for Samurai Japan has been decided and that an official announcement will be made on Sunday.

Coaches

The NPB announced today that they will sell 1,000 replica Samurai Japan Honor Pins at 4,000 yen a piece on March 10 at Tokyo Dome.

Regular purchase tickets for the Samurai Japan vs CPBL game on March 10 will also go on sale beginning on February 18 at 10:00am.

See also:

Softbank Hawks take part in Samurai Japan presentation ceremony

Higashi Nihon Earthquake Relief Baseball Match supported by Konami

Koji Akiyama, Toru Hosokawa, Yuichi Honda, and Seiichi Uchikawa participated in a Samurai Japan presentation ceremony that was held in Miyazaki earlier today.  At the ceremony, Akiyama handed out Samurai Japan team uniforms, caps, and honor pins to the three players.

Video from the ceremony can be viewed at Ustream.

UPDATE 2/16 @ 3:13pm - [YOMIURI GIANTS] Tatsunori Hara presented Tetsuya Utsumi, Hisayoshi Chono, Hirokazu Sawamura, and Hayato Sakamoto with their Samurai Japan uniforms today.

UPDATE 2/17 @ 10:28pm - [HIROSHIMA CARP] Kenta Kurihara was given his Samurai Japan uniform today.

UPDATE 2/18 @ 6:00pm - [SEIBU LIONS] Hiroyuki Nakajima, Takeya Nakamura, and Ginjiro Sumitani were presented with their Samurai Japan uniforms today.

UPDATE 2/19 @ 10:07pm - [CHUNICHI DRAGONS] Kazuki Yoshimi and Takuya Asao were given their Samurai Japan uniforms today.

UPDATE 2/20 @ 11:09pm -[YAKULT SWALLOWS] Masanori Ishikawa received his Samurai Japan uniform today.

UPDATE 2/23 @ 5:40pm - [ORIX BUFFALOES] Yoshihisa Hirano and Tomotaka Sakaguchi were presented with their Samurai Japan uniforms today.

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See also:

Higashi Nihon Earthquake Relief Baseball Match supported by Konami

Advance tickets for the Higashi Nihon Earthquake Relief Baseball Match supported by Konami go on sale begin tomorrow.

Fans can purchase tickets at the NPB official site (February 3 at 10:00 until March 9 at 23:00), or one of the following ticket agencies (February 3 at 10:00 until February 15 at 18:00): e+, Circle K Sunkus/Ticket Pia, or Lawson.

Regular tickets will go on sale beginning on February 18 at 10:00.

For more information, check the NPB official site (in Japanese).

Ticket Prices

Game 1 (University vs Industrial)

Game 3 (Samura Japan vs CPBL)

Two Game Set

* denotes tickets that will only be available via NPB's ticketing system

Chunichi Dragons' manager Morimichi Takagi will act as head coach for Samurai Japan.

In addition: a pitching coach will be selecting from the Nippon Ham Fighters; a batting coach from the Yakult Swallows; and fielding / base-running coaches from the Seibu Lions and Yomiuri Giants.

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The NPB will:

1. invite 12,000 people from Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukashima to the game.
2. donate a portion of revenue from the game to relief efforts in northern Japan.
3. auction off Samurai Japan game day uniforms after the game and donate 100% of the revenue.

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Additional info on the pin badges: they will be called Samurai Japan Honor Pins, be individually serialized, and be made out of 18K gold.  The badges are scheduled to be handed out at some point during spring camp in February.

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For the first time since the 2008 Olympics, Chunichi players will be allowed to participate in an international game.  Four players (Hitoki Iwase, Masahiko Morino, Takuya Asao, and Akifumi Takahashi) were considered for the 2009 WBC roster, but none were permitted to participate because Chunichi was worried about injuries.

FYI: of the 24 players named to the roster, 17 are first-timers.

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See also:

Higashi Nihon Earthquake Relief Baseball Match supported by Konami

The NPB held a press conference at a hotel in Tokyo today and officially announced the Higashi Nihon Earthquake Relief Baseball Match scheduled on March 10 at Tokyo Dome.

Schedule:

Game 1 - Mixed Industrial League Team vs Mixed University Team - 12:00
Game 2 - Samurai Japan vs CPBL Mixed Team - 18:25

Tickets:

Via the NPB's special site: February 3 at 10am - March 9 at 23:00
Advance tickets: February 3 at 10am - February 15 at 18:00
Regular tickets: February 18 at 10am -

TBS will be broadcast both the NPB vs CPBL game and the Mixed University team vs the Mixed Industrial League team

UPDATE @ 9:24pm - All players named to the Samurai Japan roster will be receiving Samurai Japan pin badges.  Designs for the badges will change with each tournament.

Koji Akiyama on the players that were selected to the roster:

Being a title holder [was an important factor].  And within that, young players with bright futures.  Chances to play in international games do not come very often.  I think their experiences playing for Samurai Japan will lead to their successes.  We kept that in mind when making our selections.

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Samurai Japan Roster

Additional Notes:

• Masahiro Tanaka will most likely start the game for the NPB and go about three innings.
• Takahiro Arai is the oldest player on the roster.

For the upcoming international charity game the CPBL on 3/10, the NPB is planning to select a roster based around players that were Best Nine selections or won Golden Glove awards.  The selection process has already started and the NPB will likely release the roster some time this month.

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The NPB's idea of maintaining an international team, Samurai Japan, is scheduled to go into effect in April.  A committee devoted to Samurai Japan could be created some time this month and they will be responsible for selecting the manager and the players for the team.  The committee will most likely be made up of officials from NPB teams and various other areas.  There is also a possibility that a GM will be selected.