The is the governing body of amateur baseball in Japan. They organize Japanese amateur baseball throughout Japan and overseas. The Federation was created by the merger of the Japan Amateur Baseball Association (JABA) and the Japan Student Baseball Association (JSBA) on June 20, 1990. In 2003, there were 160,000 people playing baseball in around 5,000 teams across Japan. As of 2015, the BFJ represents six international teams: senior, women, university, high school/18U, 15U, and a 12U team.
Japan is one of the few countries that fields both amateur and professional versions of its national baseball team. The amateur squad competes in most international tournaments, while professional players are typically selected for major events such as the Olympics and the World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Japan has been highly successful in international competition, winning three of the first five editions of the World Baseball Classic and one of the first two WBSC Premier12 tournaments. The team also secured the gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games. In 2023, Japan won another World Baseball Classic title, defeating the United States national baseball team in the final.
The Industrial League (JABA) and Student Baseball (High School and College) had been run separately for a long time from before World War II. In 1954, they formed the Japan Amateur Baseball Federation to organize and represent a Japanese team in the first Asian Baseball Championship in the Philippines. In 1966, after participating in six Asian Baseball Championships, the Japan Amateur Baseball Federation was disbanded and reorganized into the Japan Amateur Baseball International Committee in 1967.
Beginning in 1984, baseball was being considered as an Olympic sport. After being featured as a demonstration sport at the Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988) Summer Olympics, baseball became a regular Olympic sport beginning with the 1992 Games in Barcelona. These developments prompted the unification of the JAPA and JSBA into the Baseball Federation of Japan (BFJ) on June 20, 1990. The BFJ joined the Japanese Olympic Committee, International Baseball Federation, and Baseball Federation of Asia.
As of 2015, the BFJ has four subcommittees: the National Team Commission, Umpiring Commission, Sport and Environment Commission, and Anti-Doping Commission.
It is also represented in six International Organizations: International Baseball Federation (iBAF) 1st Vice President, Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) Vice President, iBAF Tournaments Commission, iBAF Medical/Anti-Doping Commission, iBAF Women's Development Commission, and the iBAF Athletes Commission.
Source: BFJ
Source: BFJ