TOKYO – Defending champion Japan’s 2026 World Baseball Classic roster came close to completion Monday with the addition of 10 players, including Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Chicago Cubs slugger Seiya Suzuki.
Chicago Cubs infielder Munetaka Murakami and Toronto Blue Jays infielder Kazuma Okamoto, both of whom moved from Nippon Professional Baseball this offseason, were also among the latest group named by Samurai Japan skipper Hirokazu Ibata.
They join a roster with a foundation of Major League Baseball batting and pitching talent, headlined by Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.
“I feel a sense of responsibility to once again represent Japan,” Yamamoto, the 2025 World Series MVP, said in a statement. “I have been training hard this offseason to get myself in the right condition to compete in the WBC.”
Ibata also added six players from NPB clubs — Yakult Swallows catcher Yuhei Nakamura and Hiroshima Carp infielder Kaito Kozono, as well as pitchers Hiroya Miyagi and Ryuhei Sotani of the Orix Buffaloes, Hiroto Takahashi of the Chunichi Dragons and Koki Kitayama of the Nippon Ham Fighters.
“I feel we have no option but to win the championship. We’ll be determined to win it,” said Ibata, whose latest announcement brings the Japan roster to 29 out of a maximum 30 players.
The 50-year-old manager said he wanted Yamamoto to “pitch to win as Japan’s ace,” while taking a wait-and-see stance on Ohtani’s involvement on the mound.
“(Ohtani) hasn’t begun training camp yet, so we’ll think about things once he’s started throwing,” Ibata said.
The team, aiming to win a record-extending fourth WBC crown, will head into camp in the southwestern Japan city of Miyazaki from Feb. 14.
The tournament opens March 5, with Japan beginning its campaign the following day against Pool C opponent Taiwan at Tokyo Dome.