Japanese-style baseball

In a narrow sense, Japanese-style baseball is a game that uses a hollow rubber ball, and in a broad sense, it includes a semi-hard baseball where a hard ball's outer coating is replaced with rubber.

However, the difference in the ball has a distinctive effect on the playing style and equipment, and also changes the way the players use their body.

[1] During the Meiji era (1868–1912), baseball introduced from the United States became established in Japan in national competitions for secondary schools, high schools, and colleges, and children enjoyed playing baseball using hard tennis balls.

However, tennis balls had the drawback of being difficult to use due to problems with their durability and speed, and the number of people playing the sport gradually declined.

In addition, the International Boys Nankyu Baseball World Championship takes place annually.