List of Major League Baseball players from Japan


A total of 61 Japanese-born players have played in at least one Major League Baseball game. Of these players, nine are currently on MLB rosters. The first instance of a Japanese player playing in MLB occurred in 1964, when the Nankai Hawks, a Nippon Professional Baseball team, sent three exchange prospects to the United States to gain experience in MLB's minor league system. One of the players, pitcher Masanori Murakami, was named the California League Rookie of the Year while playing for the Fresno Giants.
Giants executives were impressed with his talent and on September 1, 1964 Murakami was promoted, thus becoming the first Japanese player to play in MLB. After Murakami put up good pitching statistics as a reliever, Giants executives sought to exercise a clause in their contract with the Hawks that, they claimed, allowed them to buy up an exchange prospect's contract. NPB officials objected, stating that they had no intention of selling Murakami's contract to the Giants and telling them that Murakami was merely on loan for the 1964 season. After a two-month stalemate the Giants eventually agreed to send Murakami back to the Hawks after the 1965 season. This affair led to the 1967 United States - Japanese Player Contract Agreement, also known as the "Working Agreement", between MLB and NPB, which was basically a hands-off policy.
For thirty years Murakami was the only Japanese player to appear in an MLB game. Pitcher Hideo Nomo, with the help of agent Don Nomura, became the second Japanese player to play in MLB in 1995. Nomo, who was not yet eligible for free agency in Japan, was advised by Nomura that a "voluntary retirement" clause in the Working Agreement did not specify that a player wishing to play again after retiring must return to NPB. Nomo utilized this loophole to void his NPB contract with the Kintetsu Buffaloes and play in MLB. He announced his retirement from NPB in late 1994 and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in February 1995. Nomo's maneuver and Hideki Irabu's later MLB contractual complications were contributing factors to a major revision of the Working Agreement in 1998 that created the current posting system. Since its inception 16 Japanese players have been signed through the system, however one of these players, Shinji Mori, did not play in a single MLB game due to an injury. NPB players who have nine or more years of playing service with NPB can become international free agents and do not need to enter MLB through the posting system. The remaining Japanese players that have played in MLB have either signed as free agents or signed as amateur players. Mac Suzuki, Kazuhito Tadano, and Junichi Tazawa are the only Japanese players to have debuted in MLB without previously playing in NPB. All 30 MLB teams have had at least one Japanese player on their roster.
Japanese players have had a range of success in MLB. Twelve players have been selected to participate in the All-Star Game; Ichiro Suzuki has made the most appearances with ten. In addition to these selections, Ichiro has won several prestigious MLB awards including the American League Rookie of the Year Award and the AL Most Valuable Player Award in 2001, the All-Star Game MVP Award in 2007 and multiple Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards. Ichiro also holds the MLB record for the recording the most hits in a single season. Hideo Nomo was the only Japanese pitcher to throw a no-hitter until Hisashi Iwakuma accomplished the feat on August 12, 2015. Nomo threw two in total; the first came in 1996 and the last occurred in 2001. Thirteen Japanese players have played in the World Series. Of these players, So Taguchi has won the most with two and Hideki Matsui is the only one to win the World Series MVP Award. The 2007 World Series had the most Japanese players, with Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima pitching for the Boston Red Sox, and Kazuo Matsui playing for the Colorado Rockies.

Table key

Current players

PlayerPositionMLB DebutGames*TeamStatusNotes
*SP170Texas Rangers
Los Angeles Dodgers
Chicago Cubs 		Active
*SP164New York Yankees 10-day IL
*SP147Los Angeles Dodgers
Minnesota Twins 		Active
*SP/DH220Los Angeles Angels Active
RP137Arizona Diamondbacks
Seattle Mariners 		10-day IL
*SP32Seattle Mariners Active
*LF/3B—Tampa Bay Rays Active
LF—Cincinnati Reds Active
*RP—Toronto Blue Jays Active

Former players

Awards, records and notable accomplishments

Awards

World Series appearances

PlayerWorld Series
championships		World Series
appearances		YearNotes
232004 Cardinals
2006 Cardinals
2008 Phillies		Did not play in the 2008 World Series, despite being on the Phillies' active roster
2003 Yankees
2009 Yankees		World Series MVP
2005 White SoxFirst Japanese player to win a World Series
2007 Red SoxFirst Japanese pitcher to appear in a World Series. With Matsuzaka, first Japanese pitcher to win the World Series. The 2007 World Series was the first in which Japanese players appeared for both teams.
2007 Red SoxFirst Japanese pitcher to both start and win a World Series game and first Japanese pitcher to win an MLB playoff game during the 2007 postseason. With Okajima, first Japanese pitcher to win the World Series. The 2007 World Series was the first in which Japanese players appeared for both teams.
12013 Red Sox
12013 Red Sox
02017 Dodgers
2018 Dodgers		First Japanese player to play in consecutive World Series
02002 GiantsFirst Japanese player to play in a World Series game
02007 RockiesThe 2007 World Series was the first in which Japanese players appeared for both teams.
02008 Rays
02014 Royals
02017 Dodgers