🇯🇵 Japan at the World Baseball Classic
The giant of the tournament: champions in 2006, 2009 and 2023. The last title ended with the most famous scene in Classic history, Ohtani striking out Trout for the final out. No country has dominated the event like this.
Japan debuted at the Classic in 2006 and appears in 6 of the six editions Invicto covers (2006, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023, 2026): 185 roster records with position, club at the time and the game's 1-99 rating (methodology). Their historical peaks in the data: Shohei Ohtani (2023, rating 95); Shinnosuke Abe (2013, rating 88); Tetsuto Yamada (2017, rating 88).
Draft your team with these players
WBC 2006 (31 players)
Japan in the 2006 edition. The highest card of the year: Nobuhiko Matsunaka (87).
| Pos | Player | Club | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Nobuhiko Matsunaka | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 87 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Michihiro Ogasawara | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 82 |
| RP·CL | Akinori Otsuka | Texas Rangers | 78 |
| RF·CF | Ichiro Suzuki | Seattle Mariners | 77 |
| RP·CL | Koji Uehara | Yomiuri Giants | 77 |
| SP·RP·CL | Kyuji Fujikawa | Hanshin Tigers | 77 |
| LF·CF·RF | Nori Aoki | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 77 |
| SP·RP·CL | Toshiya Sugiuchi | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 77 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Munenori Kawasaki | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 76 |
| SP·RP | Daisuke Matsuzaka | Seibu Lions | 73 |
| SP·RP·CL | Shunsuke Watanabe | Chiba Lotte Marines | 72 |
| 3B | Akinori Iwamura | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 69 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Tsuyoshi Nishioka | Chiba Lotte Marines | 69 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Toshiaki Imae | Chiba Lotte Marines | 68 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Takahiro Arai | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 67 |
| RF·CF | Kosuke Fukudome | Chunichi Dragons | 63 |
| C | Tomoya Satozaki | Chiba Lotte Marines | 63 |
| LF·CF·RF | Kazuhiro Wada | Seibu Lions | 58 |
| SP·RP·CL | Hirotoshi Ishii | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Hiroyuki Kobayashi | Chiba Lotte Marines | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Naoyuki Shimizu | Chiba Lotte Marines | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Soichi Fujita | Chiba Lotte Marines | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Takahiro Mahara | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Tomoyuki Kubota | Hanshin Tigers | 56 |
| C | Motonobu Tanishige | Chunichi Dragons | 53 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Shinya Miyamoto | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 51 |
| LF·CF·RF | Hitoshi Tamura | Yokohama BayStars | 50 |
| C | Ryoji Aikawa | Yokohama BayStars | 46 |
| LF·CF·RF | Tatsuhiko Kinjō | Yokohama BayStars | 44 |
| SP·RP·CL | Tsuyoshi Wada | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 42 |
| RP | Yasuhiko Yabuta | Chiba Lotte Marines | 42 |
WBC 2009 (29 players)
Japan in the 2009 edition. The highest card of the year: Yu Darvish (84).
| Pos | Player | Club | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| SP·RP | Yu Darvish | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 84 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Hiroyuki Nakajima | Saitama Seibu Lions | 77 |
| RF·CF | Ichiro Suzuki | Seattle Mariners | 77 |
| RP | Kyuji Fujikawa | Hanshin Tigers | 77 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Michihiro Ogasawara | Yomiuri Giants | 77 |
| C | Shinnosuke Abe | Yomiuri Giants | 77 |
| SP·RP·CL | Toshiya Sugiuchi | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 77 |
| RF·CF | Kosuke Fukudome | Chicago Cubs | 76 |
| SP·RP·CL | Hideaki Wakui | Saitama Seibu Lions | 72 |
| SP·RP | Daisuke Matsuzaka | Boston Red Sox | 71 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Kenta Kurihara | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 69 |
| RF | Norichika Aoki | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 69 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Yasuyuki Kataoka | Saitama Seibu Lions | 69 |
| LF·CF·RF | Seiichi Uchikawa | Yokohama BayStars | 64 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Shuichi Murata | Yokohama BayStars | 64 |
| SP·RP·CL | Masahiro Tanaka | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 63 |
| C | Yoshiyuki Ishihara | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 63 |
| 2B | Akinori Iwamura | Tampa Bay Rays | 62 |
| SP·RP | Hisashi Iwakuma | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 62 |
| LF·CF·RF | Yoshiyuki Kamei | Yomiuri Giants | 62 |
| C | Kenji Johjima | Seattle Mariners | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Minoru Iwata | Hanshin Tigers | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Satoshi Komatsu | Orix Buffaloes | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Shunsuke Watanabe | Chiba Lotte Marines | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Takahiro Mahara | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Tetsuya Utsumi | Yomiuri Giants | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Tetsuya Yamaguchi | Yomiuri Giants | 56 |
| LF·CF·RF | Atsunori Inaba | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 50 |
| SS·2B | Munenori Kawasaki | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 48 |
WBC 2013 (28 players)
Japan in the 2013 edition. The highest card of the year: Shinnosuke Abe (88).
| Pos | Player | Club | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Shinnosuke Abe | Yomiuri Giants | 88 |
| SP·RP | Masahiro Tanaka | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 81 |
| LF·CF·RF | Yoshio Itoi | Orix Buffaloes | 80 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Hayato Sakamoto | Yomiuri Giants | 77 |
| SP·RP | Kenta Maeda | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 77 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Takashi Toritani | Hanshin Tigers | 77 |
| LF·CF·RF | Hisayoshi Chōno | Yomiuri Giants | 76 |
| LF·CF·RF | Seiichi Uchikawa | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 76 |
| LF·CF·RF | Sho Nakata | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 75 |
| SP·RP·CL | Tadashi Settsu | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 72 |
| SP·RP·CL | Toshiya Sugiuchi | Yomiuri Giants | 72 |
| LF·CF·RF | Katsuya Kakunaka | Chiba Lotte Marines | 69 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Nobuhiro Matsuda | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 68 |
| C | Ginjiro Sumitani | Saitama Seibu Lions | 64 |
| SP·RP·CL | Kazuhisa Makita | Saitama Seibu Lions | 63 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Yuichi Honda | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 63 |
| SP·RP·CL | Atsushi Nomi | Hanshin Tigers | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Hideaki Wakui | Saitama Seibu Lions | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Kenji Otonari | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Masahiko Morifuku | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Tetsuya Utsumi | Yomiuri Giants | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Tetsuya Yamaguchi | Yomiuri Giants | 56 |
| C | Ryoji Aikawa | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 52 |
| LF·CF·RF | Atsunori Inaba | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 51 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Hirokazu Ibata | Chunichi Dragons | 51 |
| SP·RP·CL | Takeru Imamura | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 45 |
| 2B | Kazuo Matsui | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 43 |
| SP·RP·CL | Hirokazu Sawamura | Yomiuri Giants | 42 |
WBC 2017 (36 players)
Japan in the 2017 edition. The highest card of the year: Tetsuto Yamada (88).
| Pos | Player | Club | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Tetsuto Yamada | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 88 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Hayato Sakamoto | Yomiuri Giants | 81 |
| LF·CF·RF | Seiya Suzuki | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 81 |
| CF·LF | Shogo Akiyama | Saitama Seibu Lions | 81 |
| 1B·DH·LF·RF·3B | Yoshitomo Tsutsugo | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 79 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Nobuhiro Matsuda | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 77 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Sho Nakata | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 77 |
| SP·RP·CL | Tomoyuki Sugano | Yomiuri Giants | 77 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Ryosuke Kikuchi | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 76 |
| SP·RP·CL | Kodai Senga | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 72 |
| SP·RP·CL | Takahiro Norimoto | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 72 |
| RP | Yoshihisa Hirano | Orix Buffaloes | 71 |
| LF·CF·RF | Ryosuke Hirata | Chunichi Dragons | 68 |
| C | Motohiro Shima | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 63 |
| C | Seiji Kobayashi | Yomiuri Giants | 63 |
| SP·RP·CL | Yasuaki Yamasaki | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 63 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Kosuke Tanaka | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 62 |
| LF·RF | Nori Aoki | Houston Astros | 62 |
| C | Shota Ohno | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 62 |
| RP | Kazuhisa Makita | Saitama Seibu Lions | 60 |
| SP·RP·CL | Ayumu Ishikawa | Chiba Lotte Marines | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Daichi Ohsera | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Hirotoshi Masui | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Kenta Ishida | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Masahiko Morifuku | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Naoki Miyanishi | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Ryo Akiyoshi | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Shota Takeda | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Tatsushi Masuda | Saitama Seibu Lions | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Toshiya Okada | Chunichi Dragons | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Yusuke Nomura | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Yuta Iwasada | Hanshin Tigers | 56 |
| RP | Hirokazu Sawamura | Yomiuri Giants | 54 |
| LF·CF·RF | Seiichi Uchikawa | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 52 |
| SP·RP·CL | Shintaro Fujinami | Hanshin Tigers | 42 |
| SP·RP·CL | Yuki Matsui | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 33 |
WBC 2023 (31 players)
Japan in the 2023 edition. The highest card of the year: Shohei Ohtani (95).
| Pos | Player | Club | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| DH·SP·RP | Shohei Ohtani | Los Angeles Angels | 95 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Munetaka Murakami | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 88 |
| SP·RP | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Orix Buffaloes | 84 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Hotaka Yamakawa | Saitama Seibu Lions | 81 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Kazuma Okamoto | Yomiuri Giants | 81 |
| LF·CF·RF | Kensuke Kondoh | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 81 |
| SP·RP | Shota Imanaga | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 80 |
| SP·RP | Roki Sasaki | Chiba Lotte Marines | 77 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Shugo Maki | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 77 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Tetsuto Yamada | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 77 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Sosuke Genda | Saitama Seibu Lions | 76 |
| RF·CF·LF | Lars Nootbaar | St. Louis Cardinals | 75 |
| SP·RP | Yu Darvish | San Diego Padres | 75 |
| DH·LF | Masataka Yoshida | Boston Red Sox | 70 |
| C | Takuya Kai | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 70 |
| LF·CF·RF | Ukyo Shuto | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 68 |
| RP | Yuki Matsui | Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | 65 |
| C | Yuhei Nakamura | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 64 |
| SP·RP·CL | Atsuki Yuasa | Hanshin Tigers | 63 |
| SP·RP·CL | Ryoji Kuribayashi | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 63 |
| SP·RP·CL | Shosei Togo | Yomiuri Giants | 63 |
| C | Takumi Ohshiro | Yomiuri Giants | 63 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Takumu Nakano | Hanshin Tigers | 62 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Taisei Makihara | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 61 |
| SP·RP·CL | Hiromi Itoh | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Keiji Takahashi | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Soichiro Yamazaki | Orix Buffaloes | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Taisei Ota | Yomiuri Giants | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Yuki Udagawa | Orix Buffaloes | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Hiroto Takahashi | Chunichi Dragons | 45 |
| SP·RP·CL | Hiroya Miyagi | Orix Buffaloes | 45 |
WBC 2026 (30 players)
Japan in the 2026 edition. The highest card of the year: Shohei Ohtani (93).
| Pos | Player | Club | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| DH | Shohei Ohtani | Los Angeles Dodgers | 93 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Kazuma Okamoto | Toronto Blue Jays | 87 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Munetaka Murakami | Chicago White Sox | 86 |
| SP·RP | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Los Angeles Dodgers | 86 |
| LF·CF·RF | Kensuke Kondoh | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 80 |
| SP·RP·CL | Hiroto Takahashi | Chunichi Dragons | 77 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Shugo Maki | Yokohama DeNA BayStars | 77 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Teruaki Satō | Hanshin Tigers | 77 |
| DH·RF | Seiya Suzuki | Chicago Cubs | 73 |
| SP·RP·CL | Hiromi Itoh | Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters | 72 |
| SP·RP·CL | Hiroya Miyagi | Orix Buffaloes | 72 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Kaito Kozono | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | 68 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Sōsuke Genda | Saitama Seibu Lions | 68 |
| C | Seishirō Sakamoto | Hanshin Tigers | 64 |
| SP·RP·CL | Kaima Taira | Saitama Seibu Lions | 63 |
| C | Kenya Wakatsuki | Orix Buffaloes | 63 |
| SP·RP·CL | Taisei Ota | Yomiuri Giants | 63 |
| 1B·2B·3B·SS | Taisei Makihara | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 62 |
| LF·CF·RF | Ukyo Shuto | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 62 |
| SP·RP | Yusei Kikuchi | Los Angeles Angels | 62 |
| LF·CF·RF | Shōta Morishita | Hanshin Tigers | 61 |
| SP·RP·CL | Atsuki Taneichi | Chiba Lotte Marines | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Daichi Ishii | Hanshin Tigers | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Koki Kitayama | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Ryuhei Sotani | Orix Buffaloes | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Yuki Matsumoto | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | 56 |
| SP·RP·CL | Yumeto Kanemaru | Chunichi Dragons | 56 |
| C | Yuhei Nakamura | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | 54 |
| DH | Masataka Yoshida | Boston Red Sox | 53 |
| SP·RP | Tomoyuki Sugano | Colorado Rockies | 53 |
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