Baseball is known as “America’s Pastime,” but Japan has its own thriving baseball culture steeped in more than a century of tradition. Over the past 30 years, more Japanese players have come to the U.S. and Canada to join Major League Baseball, increasing the size of the league’s Japanese fanbase. Now that cultural exchange is paying off for the league with a whole new market for merchandise, ticket sales, and broadcast revenue. In 2024, MLB sponsorship revenue from Japan increased by 114 percent, and apparel and jersey sales jumped by 183 percent. On average, more than 2.2 million people in Japan watch regular season MLB games, an increase of 42 percent. 

Individual teams are making money off the surge in Japanese interest as well. Ever since the Los Angeles Dodgers signed pitcher Shohei Ohtani, the team has brought on more than 12 new Japanese sponsors, including Hakkaisan as its exclusive sake partner. Sales of Dodgers merchandise have also increased by over 2000 percent. After the Chicago Cubs added pitcher Shota Imanaga and slugger Seiya Suzuki to the roster, the club’s revenue from Japan grew 10-fold over two years. “You don’t have that growth elsewhere in our business,” said Crane Kenney, the Cubs’ president of business operations. 

This week, the Dodgers and Cubs faced off in Tokyo to open the 2025 MLB season. Although Los Angeles won the game, the real winners might have been the thousands of fans who waited in long lines to buy coveted merchandise in the series souvenir store. The 30,000-square-foot “merch museum” filled an entire exhibition hall, the largest special-event store the MLB ever set up. A Dodgers white or blue jersey cost about 75,000 yen, or around $500. Fans also bought caps and t-shirts in the $30-50 range, key chains for $18, and game programs for $20. The store attracted Japanese fans as well as Americans who took advantage of the comparatively weak Japanese yen to buy merchandise for cheaper than in the U.S.

Questions:

1. What are some reasons why Japan has become such an important market for Major League Baseball?
2. Why do you think Japanese baseball fans were willing to wait in long lines and pay high prices for Dodgers and Cubs merchandise? 

Sources: Jared Diamond, “America’s Pastime Is Being Completely Transformed—by Japan,” The Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2025. Stephen Wade, “Shohei Ohtani Merchandise Is Prompting Long Lines – Even in the Rain – in Tokyo,” Associated Press, March 17, 2025.