Japan is the two-time defending World Baseball Classic Champion with pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka being named Tournament MVP in both 2006 and 2009. Team Japan defeated Cuba 10- 6 in 2006 with Ichiro Suzuki scoring three of Japan's runs. In 2009, Japan faced Korea in the Final and had a 3-2 lead in the ninth when the Koreans scored a run off Yu Darvish to send the game into extra innings. In the 10th, Ichiro drove in two on a single to give Japan a 5-3 win. There are currently 12 players signed to professional contracts in the United States including Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish and New York Yankees outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.
| Name | # | B/T | Height | Weight | Birth Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitchers | |||||
| Shintaro Fujinami | 17 | R-R | 6'0" | 180 | Apr 12, 1994 |
| Yoshihisa Hirano | 66 | R-R | 6'1" | 185 | Mar 8, 1984 |
| Kenta Ishida | 26 | L-L | 5'10" | 182 | Mar 1, 1993 |
| Ayumu Ishikawa | 20 | R-R | 6'1" | 17 | Apr 11, 1988 |
| Kazuhisa Makita | 35 | R-R | 5'10" | 181 | Nov 10, 1984 |
| Tatsushi Masuda | 48 | R-R | 5'10" | 176 | Apr 23, 1988 |
| Hirotoshi Masui | 19 | R-R | 5'11" | 148 | Jun 26, 1984 |
| Yusuke Nomura | 28 | R-R | 5'10" | 160 | Jun 24, 1989 |
| Takahiro Norimoto | 14 | R-R | 5'10" | 178 | Dec 17, 1990 |
| Toshiya Okada | 34 | L-L | 5'10" | 143 | Dec 5, 1991 |
| Kodai Senga | 41 | L-R | 6'0" | 178 | Jan 30, 1993 |
| Shota Takeda | 30 | R-R | 6'1" | 185 | Apr 3, 1993 |
| Catchers | |||||
| Shota Ohno | 27 | R-R | 5'10" | 169 | Jan 13, 1987 |
| Infielders | |||||
| Nobuhiro Matsuda | 3 | R-R | 5'11" | 187 | May 17, 1983 |
| Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh | 25 | L-R | 6'0" | 210 | Nov 26, 1991 |
| Outfielders | |||||
| Norichika Aoki | 7 | L-R | 5'9" | 180 | Jan 5, 1982 |
| Ryosuke Hirata | 8 | R-R | 5'9" | 185 | Mar 23, 1988 |
| Seiya Suzuki | 51 | R-R | 5'11" | 182 | Aug 18, 1994 |
| Seiichi Uchikawa | 1 | R-R | 6'0" | 180 | Aug 4, 1982 |
| Name | # | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Coaches | ||
| Hiroki Kokubo | Manager | |
| Hiroshi Gondoh | Coach | |
| Atsunori Inaba | Coach | |
| Hiroshi Narahara | Coach | |
| Toshihisa Nishi | Coach | |
| Takayuki Ohnishi | Coach | |