Japan Series


The Japan Series, also the Nippon Series, is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League, and is played in October or November. The first team to win four games is the overall winner and is declared the Japan Series Champion each year. The winner of the Japan Series also goes on to be the Japanese representative team in the annual Asia Series. The Japan Series uses a 2-3-2 format.
The home team for games 1, 2 and eventually 6 and 7, alternates between the two leagues with the Pacific League having the advantage on the years ending with an odd number and the Central League on the years ending with an even number. Designated hitters are used if the team from the Pacific League hosts the game. There is a 40-man postseason roster limit, and the rule on drawn games is changed to 12 innings, since 2018. If the series is tied after the seventh game, a Game 8 will be held with the same team hosting Games 6 and 7 hosting this game. Only once a Game 8 has been played in Japan Series history, where the Seibu Lions defeated the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 1986. In the event that Game 8 does not decide the series, the next game would be played at the stadium that hosted Games 3 through 5 after a day of rest, and games will continue until one team wins four games.
Historically, the Central League has been more successful in the Japan Series than the Pacific League, having won thirty-five times versus the Pacific League's thirty. The team with the most championships is the Yomiuri Giants, who have won the Japan Series twenty-two times. In 2004, the Pacific League instituted a three-team stepladder playoff format to determine the league champion, while the Central League champion had a long wait before the Japan Series. During this time, the Pacific League won four consecutive Series from 2003 to 2006. Starting with the 2007 postseason, both leagues adopted the Climax Series to determine their champions. The Climax Series involves the top three finishers in each league, though the format gives a significant advantage to the team with the best record in each league.
On November 6, 2010, the Chunichi Dragons and Chiba Lotte Marines played the longest game in Japan Series history. It lasted fifteen innings and resulted in a 2–2 draw.

List of winners

YearWinning TeamLosing TeamSeriesMVPFSA
1950Mainichi Orions Shochiku Robins 4–2Kaoru BettouNot awarded
1951Yomiuri Giants Nankai Hawks 4–2Yukou MinamimuraNot awarded
1952Yomiuri Giants Nankai Hawks 4–2Takehiko BesshoNot awarded
1953Yomiuri Giants Nankai Hawks 4–2–1Tetsuharu KawakamiHiroshi Minohara
1954Chunichi Dragons Nishitetsu Lions 4–3Shigeru SugishitaHiroshi Oshita
1955Yomiuri Giants Nankai Hawks 4–3Takehiko BesshoIchiro Togawa
1956Nishitetsu Lions Yomiuri Giants 4–2Yasumitsu ToyodaKazuhisa Inao*
1957Nishitetsu Lions Yomiuri Giants 4–0–1Hiroshi OshitaToshio Miyamoto
1958Nishitetsu Lions Yomiuri Giants 4–3Kazuhisa InaoMotoshi Fujita
1959Nankai Hawks Yomiuri Giants 4–0Tadashi SugiuraMasataka Tsuchiya
1960Taiyō Whales Daimai Orions 4–0Akihito KondoKenjiro Tamiya
1961Yomiuri Giants Nankai Hawks 4–2Andy MiyamotoJoe Stanka
1962Toei Flyers Hanshin Tigers 4–2–1Masayuki Dobashi
Masayuki Tanemo		Yoshio Yoshida
1963Yomiuri Giants Nishitetsu Lions 4–3Shigeo NagashimaKazuhisa Inao
1964Nankai Hawks Hanshin Tigers 4–3Joe StankaKazuhiro Yamauchi
1965Yomiuri Giants Nankai Hawks 4–1Shigeo NagashimaNobushige Morishita
1966Yomiuri Giants Nankai Hawks 4–2Isao ShibataTaisuke Watanabe
1967Yomiuri Giants Hankyu Braves 4–2Masaaki MoriMitsuhiro Adachi
1968Yomiuri Giants Hankyu Braves 4–2Shigeru TakadaTokuji Nagaike
1969Yomiuri Giants Hankyu Braves 4–2Shigeo NagashimaTokuji Nagaike
1970Yomiuri Giants Lotte Orions 4–1Shigeo NagashimaReiji Iishi
1971Yomiuri Giants Hankyu Braves 4–1Toshimitsu SuetsuguHisashi Yamada
1972Yomiuri Giants Hankyu Braves 4–1Tsuneo HoriuchiMitsuhiro Adachi
1973Yomiuri Giants Nankai Hawks 4–1Tsuneo HoriuchiKatsuya Nomura
1974Lotte Orions Chunichi Dragons 4–2Sumio HirotaMorimichi Takagi
1975Hankyu Braves Hiroshima Toyo Carp 4–0–2Takashi YamaguchiKoji Yamamoto
1976Hankyu Braves Yomiuri Giants 4–3Yutaka FukumotoIsao Shibata
1977Hankyu Braves Yomiuri Giants 4–1Hisashi YamadaKazumasa Kono
1978Yakult Swallows Hankyu Braves 4–3Katsuo OsugiMitsuhiro Adachi
1979Hiroshima Toyo Carp Kintetsu Buffaloes 4–3Yoshihiko TakahashiTakashi Imoto
1980Hiroshima Toyo Carp Kintetsu Buffaloes 4–3Jim LyttleToru Ogawa
1981Yomiuri Giants Nippon-Ham Fighters 4–2Takashi NishimotoHiroaki Inoue
1982Seibu Lions Chunichi Dragons 4–2Osamu HigashioSeiji Kamikawa
1983Seibu Lions Yomiuri Giants 4–3Takuji OtaTakashi Nishimoto
1984Hiroshima Toyo Carp Hankyu Braves 4–3Kiyoyuki NagashimaYukihiko Yamaoki
1985Hanshin Tigers Seibu Lions 4–2Randy BassHiromichi Ishige
1986Seibu Lions Hiroshima Toyo Carp 4–3–1Kimiyasu KudoMitsuo Tatsukawa
1987Seibu Lions Yomiuri Giants 4–2Kimiyasu KudoKazunori Shinozuka
1988Seibu Lions Chunichi Dragons 4–1Hiromichi IshigeMasaru Uno
1989Yomiuri Giants Kintetsu Buffaloes 4–3Norihiro KomadaHiromasa Arai
1990Seibu Lions Yomiuri Giants 4–0Orestes DestradeKaoru Okazaki
1991Seibu Lions Hiroshima Toyo Carp 4–3Kouji AkiyamaKazuhisa Kawaguchi
1992Seibu Lions Yakult Swallows 4–3Takehiro IshiiYoichi Okabayashi
1993Yakult Swallows Seibu Lions 4–3Kenjiro KawasakiKazuhiro Kiyohara
1994Yomiuri Giants Seibu Lions 4–2Hiromi MakiharaKazuhiro Kiyohara
1995Yakult Swallows Orix Blue Wave 4–1Tom O'MalleyHiroshi Kobayashi
1996Orix BlueWave Yomiuri Giants 4–1Troy NeelToshihisa Nishi
1997Yakult Swallows Seibu Lions 4–1Atsuya FurutaKazuo Matsui
1998Yokohama BayStars Seibu Lions 4–2Takanori SuzukiKoji Otsuka
1999Fukuoka Daiei Hawks Chunichi Dragons 4–1Kouji AkiyamaKenshin Kawakami
2000Yomiuri Giants Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 4–2Hideki MatsuiKenji Jojima
2001Yakult Swallows Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes 4–1Atsuya FurutaTuffy Rhodes
2002Yomiuri Giants Seibu Lions 4–0Tomohiro NiokaAlex Cabrera
2003Fukuoka Daiei Hawks Hanshin Tigers 4–3Toshiya SugiuchiTomoaki Kanemoto
2004Seibu Lions Chunichi Dragons 4–3Takashi IshiiKazuki Inoue
2005Chiba Lotte Marines Hanshin Tigers 4–0Toshiaki ImaeAkihiro Yano
2006Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Chunichi Dragons 4–1Atsunori InabaKenshin Kawakami
2007Chunichi Dragons Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 4–1Norihiro NakamuraYu Darvish
2008Saitama Seibu Lions Yomiuri Giants 4–3Takayuki KishiAlex Ramírez
2009Yomiuri Giants Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 4–2Shinnosuke AbeShinji Takahashi
2010Chiba Lotte Marines Chunichi Dragons 4–2–1Toshiaki ImaeKazuhiro Wada
2011Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Chunichi Dragons 4–3Hiroki KokuboKazuhiro Wada
2012Yomiuri Giants Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 4–2Tetsuya UtsumiAtsunori Inaba
2013Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles Yomiuri Giants 4–3Manabu MimaHisayoshi Chōno
2014Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Hanshin Tigers 4–1Seiichi UchikawaRandy Messenger
2015Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4–1Lee Dae-hoTetsuto Yamada
2016Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Hiroshima Toyo Carp 4–2Brandon LairdBrad Eldred
2017Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Yokohama DeNA BayStars 4–2Dennis SarfateToshiro Miyazaki
2018Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Hiroshima Toyo Carp 4–1–1Takuya KaiSeiya Suzuki
2019Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Yomiuri Giants 4–0Yurisbel GracialYoshiyuki Kamei

Kazuhisa Inao, as an exception, won the Fighting Spirit Award while playing for the victorius Nishitetsu Lions.

Extra Inning Rules

With changes introduced as of 2018, the current rules stipulate that the first seven games originally scheduled are called if tied after 12 innings, and if extra games are necessary, the games are played until a victor is decided, with no curfew limitations.
Historically:
TeamWinsLosses
Yomiuri Giants2213
Saitama Seibu Lions138
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks109
Tokyo Yakult Swallows52
Orix Buffaloes48
Chiba Lotte Marines42
Hiroshima Toyo Carp35
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters34
Chunichi Dragons28
Yokohama DeNA BayStars21
Hanshin Tigers15
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles10
Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes04
Shochiku Robins01

The franchise currently known as the Saitama Seibu Lions had a Japan Series record of 3–2 as the Nishitetsu Lions.
The franchise currently known as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks had a Japan Series record of 2–8 as the Nankai Hawks.
The franchise currently known as the Orix Buffaloes had a Japan Series record of 3–7 as the Hankyu Braves, and 1–1 as the Orix BlueWave. It took its current name in 2005 after merging with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes.
The franchise currently known as the Chiba Lotte Marines had a Japan Series record of 1–0 as the Mainichi Orions, 0–1 as the Daimai Orions, and 1–1 as the Lotte Orions.
The franchise currently known as the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters had a Japan Series record of 1–0 as the Toei Flyers.
The franchise has a Japan Series record of 1-0 as Yokohama Baystars and a Japan Series record of 1–0 as the Taiyō Whales.
The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes were merged with the Orix BlueWave in 2005 to form the Orix Buffaloes.
The Shochiku Robins were merged with the Taiyō Whales in 1953, eventually becoming the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

Leagues by number of wins

Central League35–35Pacific League

Streaks and droughts