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(June 2026) -- Tournament play is underway in Japan, and we have begun our coverage of the 2026 Japan Region tournament -- click for details. Leagues from throughout Japan compete in their local tournaments for the right to advance to the Japan Region tournament, which will be held in late July. The Japan Region winner advances to the Little League World Series. -------- 2026 brings our 30th and final summer of coverage for the international tournament, and our coverage this year will begin with post-district tournament competition.
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Japanese leagues are divided into twelve districts from Hokkaido in the north to Kyushu in the southwest. All-star teams from leagues in each of these districts compete for the right to advance to the Japanese Region tournament, which is held in July. The All-Japan tournament, which was first held in 1967, is a sixteen-team, single-elimination tournament. The four districts with the most chartered leagues send two teams to the Japanese Region tournament, while the eight other districts each send one team. Japan was established as a separate region for the international tournament in 2007, meaning that the Japanese champion advances directly to the Little League World Series. In previous years, Japan's winner faced other national champions from Asian and Pacific island countries and territories in region tournament competition.
Click for an overview of the structure of Little League Baseball in Japan.
Thirty-two Japanese leagues have participated in the Little League World Series. Eleven have won the championship, including Tokyo Kitasuna Little League, which defeated Lufkin Little League (Texas East), 12-2, in 2017 to win its third Little League World Series championship. Tokyo Kitasuna won the Little League World Series in 2001, 2012, 2015, and 2017; the league's four championships are the most won by any league worldwide.
West Tokyo Little League won Japan's first Little League World Series championship, and became the first Little League World Series champion from outside North America when it defeated Chicago's Roseland North Little League in the 1967 championship game. Wakayama Little League followed with a title in 1968.
Chofu Little League, a frequent winner of the All-Japan championship in the 1970s, claimed Japan's third Little League World Series title in 1976. Chofu's roster included Daisuke Araki, later a popular professional baseball player and sports commentator in Japan. One of Japan's most revered players during the 1980s, Araki successfully returned from a four-year absence caused by an arm injury to help the Yakult Swallows win the 1993 Japan Series championship. In the process, he became the only player ever to win both the Little League World Series and the Japan Series championships.
Alongside Tokyo Kitasuna's four championships, other Japanese leagues to win the Little League World Series include Osaka's Hirakata Little League in 1999, Musashi Fuchu Little League in 2003 and 2013, and Edogawa Minami Little League in 2010.
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