The Japan Series — the Nippon Series — has decided Japan's baseball champion since 1950. These are the games and dynasties that turned a best-of-seven into a national ritual.
2025: Hawks' four-game comeback at Koshien
The most recent chapter delivered everything. Hanshin won Game 1 in Fukuoka — their first ever Japan Series win in the Hawks' park — but SoftBank stormed back with four straight, including a 3–2 extra-inning clincher at Koshien, where Isami Nomura's 11th-inning homer sealed the title. Hotaka Yamakawa, who homered in three consecutive games, took the MVP. It was the Hawks' 12th championship and first since 2020.
2024: DeNA's impossible year
DeNA BayStars, a club that spent years in the lower half, upset the SoftBank Hawks 4–2 to win the 2024 Japan Series — a storybook run that became one of the great underdog tales in NPB history.
2023: The Tigers' 38-year wait
Hanshin's first title since 1985 ended one of sport's famous droughts — the so-called "Curse of the Colonel" — and triggered celebrations that spilled across Osaka for days. It was proof that the Japan Series still has the power to define a generation of fans.
Every October, Japan stops to watch two parks argue about who is the best.
The dynasties before
The Yomiuri Giants own the most titles in NPB history — 22 — including a run of nine straight championships from 1965 to 1973, a record that still defines the club's standard. The Seibu Lions dominated the 1980s and early 90s, while SoftBank's run from 2011 to 2020 (seven titles in ten years) built the modern dynasty. The Chunichi Dragons (2007) and Rakuten Eagles (2013) remain the most recent first-time champions.
Why it captivates
Unlike MLB's World Series, the Japan Series mixes leagues with different rules — the Pacific League's designated hitter visits the Central League's pitcher-batting parks — and the atmosphere at Koshien and Tokyo Dome is unlike anything else in the sport. Add the possibility of ties extending games, and drama is almost guaranteed.
The next edition is the SMBC Japan Series 2026: Game 1 opens at Koshien on Saturday, October 24, with a possible Game 7 on Sunday, November 1. Central League champion Hanshin awaits the Giants/DeNA winner; Pacific League champion SoftBank awaits the Seibu/Nippon-Ham winner — and if both pennant winners survive, it's a 2025 rematch. Full schedule: the postseason guide.