Japan Series: Complete History and Every Winner

Shinji Takahashi pitching in the 2009 Japan Series
Photo: inucara on HatenaFotolife (cropped by UCinternational) via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.1 jp

Awards › Japan Series: Complete History and Every Winner

The Japan Series is the last series of the year in Japanese pro baseball. The best team from one league plays the best team from the other league. The first team to win four games is the champ of all Japan.

It is like the World Series in MLB. Fans in Japan call the winner “Nippon Ichi.” That means “number one in Japan.”

The first Japan Series was played in 1950. It has been played every year since. That is 76 series, as of the 2025 season.

This page tells the whole story. We cover how the series works, every winner, the big dynasties, the famous games and the records.

New to Japanese baseball? Start with how NPB works. For more prizes and titles, see our awards page.

Quick Facts

  • What it is: The championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball, or NPB.
  • Who plays: The champion of the Central League and the champion of the Pacific League.
  • Format: Best of seven. The first team to four wins takes the title.
  • First played: 1950.
  • Most titles: The Yomiuri Giants, with 22.
  • Longest streak: The Giants won nine in a row, from 1965 to 1973.
  • League score: Each league has won 38 times, as of the 2025 season.
  • Every team has won: All 12 of today’s teams have won at least once.
  • Most recent winner: The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, in 2025.

What the Japan Series Is

Japan has two pro leagues. One is the Central League. The other is the Pacific League. Each league has six teams.

The teams in each league play a long season. Then there are playoffs. At the end, each league has one champ. Those two teams meet in the Japan Series.

The two leagues only meet a few times a year in the regular season. So the Japan Series is a big deal. It is the one time the two best teams face off with the whole year on the line.

The official name is long. It is the “Japan Championship Series.” Most people just say the Japan Series. In Japan it is “Nippon Shiriizu.”

How the Series Works

The series is best of seven. That means it ends as soon as one team wins four games. So it can take four, five, six or seven games.

Home games. The games are played in a 2-3-2 pattern. One team hosts Games 1 and 2. The other team hosts Games 3, 4 and 5. Then the first team hosts Games 6 and 7, if they are needed.

Which team gets Games 1 and 2? It switches each year. In years that end in an odd number, the Pacific League team hosts first. In years that end in an even number, the Central League team hosts first.

The DH. The Pacific League uses a designated hitter. That is a player who bats for the pitcher. In the Japan Series, the DH is used in games at the Pacific League park.

Ties. Here’s the thing. Games in Japan can end in a tie. Since 2018, a game that is still tied after 12 innings is over. It goes in the books as a tie.

Since ties can happen, a series could be tied after seven games. Then a Game 8 is played. It has only happened once. That was in 1986.

Reading a Series Score

You will see scores like “4–2” or “4–2–1” on this page.

  • 4–2 means the winner won four games and lost two.
  • 4–2–1 means the winner won four, lost two, and there was one tie.

So a series with a tie can go eight games, even though no one won more than four.

How a Team Gets There

For a long time, getting to the Japan Series was simple. You won your league. Then you went to the series.

That changed in the 2000s.

In 2004, the Pacific League started a playoff. The top three teams played for the league title. The Central League did not do this yet. Its champ just waited.

In 2007, both leagues started the same playoff. It is called the Climax Series. The top three teams in each league play in it. The team with the best record gets a big edge. But a team that finished second or third can still win.

So now, the team in the Japan Series is the Climax Series winner. Most years that is the team with the best record. But not always.

Five times, a team that did not finish first went on to win the whole thing. Chunichi did it from second place in 2007. Lotte did it from third place in 2010. SoftBank did it from second place in 2018 and 2019. Yokohama DeNA did it from third place in 2024.

Want to learn more about the season and the playoffs? See our guide to how NPB works.

How It Began

Pro baseball in Japan started in 1936. For years, there was just one league. The team with the best record was the champ. There was no big series at the end.

In 1950, the league split in two. Now there were two leagues and two champs. So a series to settle it was needed. Read the full story on our 1950 league split page.

The first series was played in the fall of 1950. In the first few years, it had a different name. It was called the “Japan World Series.” The name was taken from MLB. It was dropped after 1953.

The 1950 series was odd in one way. The games moved from park to park. Game 1 was in Tokyo. Other games were in Osaka, Nishinomiya and Nagoya.

The Mainichi Orions of the Pacific League beat the Shochiku Robins of the Central League. The score was 4–2. Kaoru Betto was the first Japan Series MVP.

Mainichi is the team we now call the Chiba Lotte Marines. See our Chiba Lotte Marines history. Shochiku did not last. It was merged into another club in 1953.

The 1950s: Giants and Lions

The Yomiuri Giants owned the early years. They won in 1951, 1952 and 1953. Each time, they beat the Nankai Hawks.

Then the Chunichi Dragons won in 1954. It was their first title. They beat the Nishitetsu Lions in seven games.

The Giants won again in 1955. Again, they beat Nankai.

Then came the Lions. The Nishitetsu Lions were from Fukuoka. They beat the Giants in 1956. They beat them again in 1957. And they beat them a third time in 1958.

The 1958 series is one of the most famous ever. The Giants won the first three games. They needed just one more win. But the Lions won the next four in a row. Their ace, Kazuhisa Inao, was the MVP. Fans still talk about it.

Nishitetsu is now the Saitama Seibu Lions. Read more on our Seibu Lions history page.

In 1959, Nankai finally beat the Giants. They swept them, four games to none. Tadashi Sugiura was the MVP. Nankai is now the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. See our SoftBank Hawks history.

The 1960s: The Giants Take Over

The 1960s started with a surprise. The Taiyo Whales had been a last-place team. In 1960, they won the Central League. Then they swept the Daimai Orions in the series. The Whales are now the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

The Giants won in 1961 and 1963. The Toei Flyers won in 1962. Toei is now the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

The 1964 series was special. It was the first Japan Series played at night. Nankai beat the Hanshin Tigers in seven games. An American pitcher, Joe Stanka, was the MVP.

Then the Giants began the run that no one has matched.

V9: Nine Titles in a Row

From 1965 to 1973, the Yomiuri Giants won the Japan Series every year. That is nine straight titles. Fans call it “V9.” The V is for victory.

Their manager was Tetsuharu Kawakami. Their two biggest stars were Sadaharu Oh and Shigeo Nagashima. Oh hit home runs. Nagashima got the big hits. Fans called the pair the “O-N Cannon.”

The Giants beat many teams in those years:

  • 1965 and 1966: Nankai Hawks.
  • 1967, 1968 and 1969: Hankyu Braves.
  • 1970: Lotte Orions.
  • 1971 and 1972: Hankyu Braves.
  • 1973: Nankai Hawks.

Nagashima was the series MVP four times in his career. That is still the most ever. Read about him on our Shigeo Nagashima page. Read about Oh on our Sadaharu Oh page.

No team has come close to nine in a row since. The next longest run is four.

For the full Giants story, see our Yomiuri Giants history.

The 1970s: Hankyu’s Turn

The Hankyu Braves lost to the Giants five times in the V9 years. Then their luck changed.

In 1974, the streak ended. The Giants did not even win their league. The Lotte Orions beat the Chunichi Dragons in the series.

Then Hankyu won three in a row. They beat Hiroshima in 1975. They beat the Giants in 1976 and in 1977. Yutaka Fukumoto, the great base stealer, was the MVP in 1976. Ace Hisashi Yamada was the MVP in 1977.

Hankyu is now the Orix Buffaloes. See our Orix Buffaloes history.

In 1978, the Yakult Swallows won their first title. They beat Hankyu in seven games. See our Yakult Swallows history.

The Hiroshima Carp won in 1979 and 1980. Both times they beat the Kintetsu Buffaloes in seven games. Read about the Carp on our Hiroshima Carp history page.

The 1980s: Seibu Rises

In 1981, the Giants played the Nippon-Ham Fighters. Both teams used the same home park, Korakuen Stadium. So all six games were played there. The Giants won.

Then the Seibu Lions took over. Seibu had bought the old Lions club and moved it near Tokyo. They won in 1982 and 1983.

The Carp won again in 1984. Then, in 1985, came a title that fans in Osaka still love.

1985: Hanshin and Randy Bass

The Hanshin Tigers had never won the Japan Series. In 1985, they had a monster lineup. Their star was an American, Randy Bass. He won the Triple Crown that year.

Hanshin beat Seibu, four games to two. Bass was the series MVP. It was Hanshin’s first title. Fans went wild. Read more about Bass on our page about Americans in NPB. See also our Hanshin Tigers history.

1986: The Only Game 8

The 1986 series had a strange start. Game 1 was a tie. Then the Hiroshima Carp won the next three games.

Seibu was in big trouble. But Seibu won Game 5. Then Game 6. Then Game 7. Now each team had three wins and there was one tie.

So a Game 8 was played. Seibu won it. They took the title, four wins, three losses and one tie. It is the only Game 8 in Japan Series history.

A young pitcher named Kimiyasu Kudo was the MVP. He won it again the next year.

The Seibu Dynasty

Seibu kept winning. Their manager was Masaaki Mori. They won in 1986, 1987 and 1988.

In 1989, the Giants won. That series had a big comeback. Kintetsu won the first three games. Then the Giants won four in a row.

Seibu came back to win in 1990, 1991 and 1992. In 1990, they swept the Giants in four.

From 1982 to 1992, Seibu won eight titles. Their American slugger Orestes Destrade was the MVP in 1990.

The 1990s: Yakult and More

In 1993, Yakult beat Seibu in seven games. Their manager was Katsuya Nomura. He was a great catcher as a player. As a manager, he won with smart, careful baseball.

Yakult won again in 1995 and 1997. Their catcher, Atsuya Furuta, was the MVP in 1997.

The Giants won in 1994. That was Shigeo Nagashima’s first title as their manager.

In 1996, the Orix BlueWave won. That team had a young star named Ichiro Suzuki.

In 1998, the Yokohama BayStars won. It was their first title in 38 years.

In 1999, the Daiei Hawks won. Their manager was Sadaharu Oh.

2000: The O-N Series

The 2000 series had a story fans had wanted for years.

Shigeo Nagashima managed the Giants. Sadaharu Oh managed the Daiei Hawks. The two old teammates were now on opposite sides.

The Giants won, four games to two. Their star, Hideki Matsui, was the series MVP. Read about him on our Hideki Matsui Giants page.

The 2000s

Yakult won again in 2001. They beat Kintetsu. That was Kintetsu’s last trip to the series. The club never won a title. It merged into Orix after 2004. Learn why on our 2004 strike page.

The Giants swept Seibu in 2002. Daiei won in 2003, over Hanshin, in seven games.

Seibu won in 2004 over Chunichi.

In 2005, the Chiba Lotte Marines swept Hanshin. Their manager was an American, Bobby Valentine. Lotte outscored Hanshin by a huge margin in those four games.

In 2006, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters won. Their manager, Trey Hillman, was also an American. It was the team’s first title in 44 years.

In 2007, Chunichi won. Their manager was Hiromitsu Ochiai. In the last game, two pitchers held the Fighters without a single base runner. Daisuke Yamai threw eight perfect innings. Then the closer, Hitoki Iwase, got the last three outs.

Seibu won in 2008. The Giants won in 2009. Their catcher Shinnosuke Abe was the MVP.

The Longest Game

On November 6, 2010, Chunichi played Chiba Lotte in Game 6. It went 15 innings. It took 5 hours and 43 minutes. And after all that, it ended in a 2–2 tie.

It is the longest game in Japan Series history. Lotte won the series in Game 7.

Rakuten’s 2013 Title

The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles are from Sendai. They were born in 2005. In 2011, a huge earthquake and tsunami hit their part of Japan.

In 2013, Rakuten won the series. Their ace was Masahiro Tanaka. He had a perfect record that year, 24 wins and no losses. Rakuten beat the Giants in seven games. Their manager was Senichi Hoshino.

That title mattered for one more reason. Now all 12 current teams had won the Japan Series at least once. See our Rakuten Eagles history.

The SoftBank Era

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks have been the top team of recent years.

They won in 2011, 2014 and 2015. In 2016, the Fighters won, with a young Shohei Ohtani. Then SoftBank won four straight, from 2017 to 2020. That is the second-longest streak ever, after the Giants’ nine.

In 2019 and 2020, SoftBank swept the Giants. Both times it was four games to none.

From 2013 to 2020, the Pacific League won eight series in a row. Six were SoftBank. One was Rakuten. One was Nippon-Ham.

The 2020s So Far

In 2021, Yakult beat the Orix Buffaloes. In 2022, they met again. This time Orix won. It was Orix’s first title since 1996.

In 2023, Hanshin beat Orix in seven games. It was Hanshin’s second title ever, and its first since 1985. Koji Chikamoto was the MVP.

In 2024, Yokohama DeNA won. They had finished third in their league. They beat SoftBank, four games to two.

In 2025, SoftBank beat Hanshin, four games to one. Their manager was Hiroki Kokubo. He had been a series MVP as a player in 2011.

Every Winner, 1950 to 2025

Here is every Japan Series, as of the 2025 season. Teams are listed by the name they used that year. “Games” shows wins, losses and ties for the winner.

Year Winner Games Loser Series MVP
1950 Mainichi Orions 4–2 Shochiku Robins Kaoru Betto
1951 Yomiuri Giants 4–1 Nankai Hawks Yukou Minamimura
1952 Yomiuri Giants 4–2 Nankai Hawks Takehiko Bessho
1953 Yomiuri Giants 4–2–1 Nankai Hawks Tetsuharu Kawakami
1954 Chunichi Dragons 4–3 Nishitetsu Lions Shigeru Sugishita
1955 Yomiuri Giants 4–3 Nankai Hawks Takehiko Bessho
1956 Nishitetsu Lions 4–2 Yomiuri Giants Yasumitsu Toyoda
1957 Nishitetsu Lions 4–0–1 Yomiuri Giants Hiroshi Oshita
1958 Nishitetsu Lions 4–3 Yomiuri Giants Kazuhisa Inao
1959 Nankai Hawks 4–0 Yomiuri Giants Tadashi Sugiura
1960 Taiyō Whales 4–0 Daimai Orions Akihito Kondo
1961 Yomiuri Giants 4–2 Nankai Hawks Andy Miyamoto
1962 Toei Flyers 4–2–1 Hanshin Tigers Masayuki Dobashi and Masayuki Tanemo
1963 Yomiuri Giants 4–3 Nishitetsu Lions Shigeo Nagashima
1964 Nankai Hawks 4–3 Hanshin Tigers Joe Stanka
1965 Yomiuri Giants 4–1 Nankai Hawks Shigeo Nagashima
1966 Yomiuri Giants 4–2 Nankai Hawks Isao Shibata
1967 Yomiuri Giants 4–2 Hankyu Braves Masaaki Mori
1968 Yomiuri Giants 4–2 Hankyu Braves Shigeru Takada
1969 Yomiuri Giants 4–2 Hankyu Braves Shigeo Nagashima
1970 Yomiuri Giants 4–1 Lotte Orions Shigeo Nagashima
1971 Yomiuri Giants 4–1 Hankyu Braves Toshimitsu Suetsugu
1972 Yomiuri Giants 4–1 Hankyu Braves Tsuneo Horiuchi
1973 Yomiuri Giants 4–1 Nankai Hawks Tsuneo Horiuchi
1974 Lotte Orions 4–2 Chunichi Dragons Sumio Hirota
1975 Hankyu Braves 4–0–2 Hiroshima Toyo Carp Takashi Yamaguchi
1976 Hankyu Braves 4–3 Yomiuri Giants Yutaka Fukumoto
1977 Hankyu Braves 4–1 Yomiuri Giants Hisashi Yamada
1978 Yakult Swallows 4–3 Hankyu Braves Katsuo Osugi
1979 Hiroshima Toyo Carp 4–3 Kintetsu Buffaloes Yoshihiko Takahashi
1980 Hiroshima Toyo Carp 4–3 Kintetsu Buffaloes Jim Lyttle
1981 Yomiuri Giants 4–2 Nippon-Ham Fighters Takashi Nishimoto
1982 Seibu Lions 4–2 Chunichi Dragons Osamu Higashio
1983 Seibu Lions 4–3 Yomiuri Giants Takuji Ota
1984 Hiroshima Toyo Carp 4–3 Hankyu Braves Kiyoyuki Nagashima
1985 Hanshin Tigers 4–2 Seibu Lions Randy Bass
1986 Seibu Lions 4–3–1 Hiroshima Toyo Carp Kimiyasu Kudo
1987 Seibu Lions 4–2 Yomiuri Giants Kimiyasu Kudo
1988 Seibu Lions 4–1 Chunichi Dragons Hiromichi Ishige
1989 Yomiuri Giants 4–3 Kintetsu Buffaloes Norihiro Komada
1990 Seibu Lions 4–0 Yomiuri Giants Orestes Destrade
1991 Seibu Lions 4–3 Hiroshima Toyo Carp Kouji Akiyama
1992 Seibu Lions 4–3 Yakult Swallows Takehiro Ishii
1993 Yakult Swallows 4–3 Seibu Lions Kenjiro Kawasaki
1994 Yomiuri Giants 4–2 Seibu Lions Hiromi Makihara
1995 Yakult Swallows 4–1 Orix BlueWave Tom O’Malley
1996 Orix BlueWave 4–1 Yomiuri Giants Troy Neel
1997 Yakult Swallows 4–1 Seibu Lions Atsuya Furuta
1998 Yokohama BayStars 4–2 Seibu Lions Takanori Suzuki
1999 Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 4–1 Chunichi Dragons Kouji Akiyama
2000 Yomiuri Giants 4–2 Fukuoka Daiei Hawks Hideki Matsui
2001 Yakult Swallows 4–1 Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes Atsuya Furuta
2002 Yomiuri Giants 4–0 Seibu Lions Tomohiro Nioka
2003 Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 4–3 Hanshin Tigers Toshiya Sugiuchi
2004 Seibu Lions 4–3 Chunichi Dragons Takashi Ishii
2005 Chiba Lotte Marines 4–0 Hanshin Tigers Toshiaki Imae
2006 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 4–1 Chunichi Dragons Atsunori Inaba
2007 Chunichi Dragons 4–1 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Norihiro Nakamura
2008 Saitama Seibu Lions 4–3 Yomiuri Giants Takayuki Kishi
2009 Yomiuri Giants 4–2 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Shinnosuke Abe
2010 Chiba Lotte Marines 4–2–1 Chunichi Dragons Toshiaki Imae
2011 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4–3 Chunichi Dragons Hiroki Kokubo
2012 Yomiuri Giants 4–2 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Tetsuya Utsumi
2013 Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 4–3 Yomiuri Giants Manabu Mima
2014 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4–1 Hanshin Tigers Seiichi Uchikawa
2015 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4–1 Tokyo Yakult Swallows Lee Dae-ho
2016 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 4–2 Hiroshima Toyo Carp Brandon Laird
2017 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4–2 Yokohama DeNA BayStars Dennis Sarfate
2018 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4–1–1 Hiroshima Toyo Carp Takuya Kai
2019 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4–0 Yomiuri Giants Yurisbel Gracial
2020 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4–0 Yomiuri Giants Ryoya Kurihara
2021 Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4–2 Orix Buffaloes Yuhei Nakamura
2022 Orix Buffaloes 4–2–1 Tokyo Yakult Swallows Yutaro Sugimoto
2023 Hanshin Tigers 4–3 Orix Buffaloes Koji Chikamoto
2024 Yokohama DeNA BayStars 4–2 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Masayuki Kuwahara
2025 Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4–1 Hanshin Tigers Hotaka Yamakawa

In 1962, two Toei players shared the MVP.

Titles by Team

Here are the titles for each of today’s 12 teams. The count includes the old names the teams used.

  • Yomiuri Giants: 22.
  • Saitama Seibu Lions: 13. This counts the Nishitetsu years.
  • Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks: 12. This counts the Nankai and Daiei years.
  • Tokyo Yakult Swallows: 6.
  • Orix Buffaloes: 5. This counts the Hankyu and BlueWave years.
  • Chiba Lotte Marines: 4. This counts the Mainichi and Lotte Orions years.
  • Hiroshima Toyo Carp: 3.
  • Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters: 3. This counts the Toei year.
  • Yokohama DeNA BayStars: 3. This counts the Taiyo Whales year.
  • Chunichi Dragons: 2.
  • Hanshin Tigers: 2.
  • Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles: 1.

Two old teams played in the series but never won. The Shochiku Robins lost in 1950. The Kintetsu Buffaloes lost four times.

Central League vs Pacific League

For a long time, the Central League won more often. A big reason was the Giants and their nine straight titles.

But the Pacific League has caught up. As of the 2025 season, each league has won 38 times.

In the 2000s and 2010s, the Pacific League was the stronger league. It won four in a row from 2003 to 2006. Then it won eight in a row from 2013 to 2020.

Streaks

Here are the longest runs of titles in a row.

  • 9 in a row: Yomiuri Giants, 1965 to 1973.
  • 4 in a row: Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, 2017 to 2020.
  • 3 in a row: Yomiuri Giants, 1951 to 1953.
  • 3 in a row: Nishitetsu Lions, 1956 to 1958.
  • 3 in a row: Hankyu Braves, 1975 to 1977.
  • 3 in a row: Seibu Lions, 1986 to 1988.
  • 3 in a row: Seibu Lions, 1990 to 1992.

Long Waits

Some teams have gone a long time without a title.

  • The Chunichi Dragons won in 1954. They did not win again until 2007.
  • The Fighters won in 1962. They did not win again until 2006.
  • The Hanshin Tigers won in 1985. They did not win again until 2023.
  • The Hiroshima Carp last won in 1984. As of the 2025 season, they are still waiting.
  • The Kintetsu Buffaloes never won at all.

Comebacks From 0–3

Only three teams have lost the first three games and then won the next four.

  • 1958: The Nishitetsu Lions, against the Giants.
  • 1986: The Seibu Lions, against Hiroshima. Game 1 was a tie, so Seibu came back from no wins.
  • 1989: The Yomiuri Giants, against Kintetsu.

The MVP and the Fighting Spirit Award

Two awards are given at the end of each series.

  • The MVP goes to the best player on the team that won.
  • The Fighting Spirit Award goes to the best player on the team that lost.

It is a nice touch. The losing team gets a hero too.

Once, a player on the winning team got the Fighting Spirit Award. That was Kazuhisa Inao of the Lions in 1956.

Most MVPs: Shigeo Nagashima won the series MVP four times. That is the record.

Players who later managed a winner: Some MVPs went on to win the series as a manager. They include Tetsuharu Kawakami, Shigeo Nagashima, Masaaki Mori, Kimiyasu Kudo and Hiroki Kokubo.

Foreign Stars Who Won the MVP

Many players from other countries have been the series MVP. Here are some of them.

  • Joe Stanka: 1964, Nankai.
  • Jim Lyttle: 1980, Hiroshima.
  • Randy Bass: 1985, Hanshin.
  • Orestes Destrade: 1990, Seibu.
  • Tom O’Malley: 1995, Yakult.
  • Troy Neel: 1996, Orix.
  • Lee Dae-ho: 2015, SoftBank.
  • Brandon Laird: 2016, Nippon-Ham.
  • Dennis Sarfate: 2017, SoftBank.
  • Yurisbel Gracial: 2019, SoftBank.

Where the Games Are Played

The games are played in the home parks of the two teams. Over the years, that has meant some famous places.

Sometimes a team could not use its own park. In 2020, Tokyo Dome was booked for another event. So the Giants played their home games in Osaka. In 2021, Yakult’s home park was booked for college games. So Yakult played its home games at Tokyo Dome.

Rules for Long Games

The rules for long games have changed over the years. In the past, games could run much longer. Today the rule is simple.

  • Since 2018: Games end after 12 innings, even if tied.

Night Games

The first series games were played in the day. That changed in 1964. That year, the Olympics were held in Tokyo. The series was moved, and every game was played at night.

For many years after that, most games were in the day again. Now the games are played at night, so more fans can watch after work and school.

Why the Japan Series Matters

Here’s the thing. The Japan Series is the one time a year when the two leagues meet with it all on the line.

It decides the best team in the country. It makes heroes, like Inao in 1958 and Bass in 1985. It ends long waits, like Hanshin in 2023. And it carries the history of every team in Japan.

When you see “Nippon Ichi” on a cap or a banner, now you know what it means. That team won it all.

Timeline

  • 1950: The first Japan Series. Mainichi beats Shochiku.
  • 1958: Nishitetsu comes back from 0–3 to beat the Giants.
  • 1964: The first series played at night.
  • 1965 to 1973: The Giants win nine in a row.
  • 1981: Every game is played at Korakuen Stadium.
  • 1985: Hanshin wins its first title. Randy Bass is MVP.
  • 1986: The only Game 8. Seibu wins.
  • 1989: The Giants come back from 0–3 to beat Kintetsu.
  • 2000: Nagashima’s Giants beat Oh’s Hawks.
  • 2007: The Climax Series begins in both leagues.
  • 2010: The longest game, 15 innings and a tie.
  • 2013: Rakuten wins. All 12 teams have now won.
  • 2017 to 2020: SoftBank wins four in a row.
  • 2023: Hanshin wins again after 38 years.
  • 2024: Third-place DeNA wins.
  • 2025: SoftBank wins its 12th title.

Key Terms

  • Japan Series: The final series between the two league champs.
  • Nippon Ichi: “Number one in Japan.” The title the winner earns.
  • Central League: One of the two leagues in NPB.
  • Pacific League: The other league. It uses the DH.
  • Climax Series: The playoffs before the Japan Series.
  • V9: The Giants’ nine straight titles, 1965 to 1973.
  • Fighting Spirit Award: The prize for the best player on the losing team.

More terms are in our glossary.

Common Questions

Who has won the most Japan Series titles? The Yomiuri Giants, with 22.

Has every team won the Japan Series? Every one of today’s 12 teams has won at least once. Rakuten was the last to get its first, in 2013.

Can a Japan Series game end in a tie? Yes. Since 2018, a game ends after 12 innings, even if it is tied.

What is a Game 8? If the series is even after seven games because of a tie, they play an eighth game. It has only happened once, in 1986.

Is the Japan Series like the World Series? Yes. Both are best of seven. Both pit the champs of two leagues. In Japan, though, games can end in ties.

Which league has won more? As of the 2025 season, they are even. Each has 38 titles.

The Bottom Line

The Japan Series has crowned Japan’s best team every year since 1950. It is best of seven, with the Central League champ facing the Pacific League champ.

The Giants have won the most, with 22. Their nine straight titles may never be matched. SoftBank has ruled the recent years. And every one of today’s 12 teams has had its day.

As of the 2025 season, the two leagues are tied at 38 wins each. To see who led each league in key stats, visit our title holders page.

Sources