Total attendance at NPB baseball matches in Japan 2012-2022

In the 2022 season, the total number of people attending professional baseball games in Japan amounted to approximately 21.1 million. Baseball is the most well-attended sport in Japan and has a sizable cross-generational fandom. The figures for 2020 and 2021 show the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on baseball attendance in Japan.

Most popular teams

Japan’s professional baseball circuit, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), consists of 12 teams. The most popular team among these is the Yomiuri Giants, which is one of Japan’s first professional baseball teams that formed in the 1930s. The team is located in Tokyo and has the Tokyo Dome at its disposal for home games. The Giants are not only the most popular team, but they also are historically the most successful team in the NPB, with 22 national championship wins under their belt. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, popularity was also linked to attendance figures, with the two most popular teams, the Yomiuri Giants and their archrivals, the Hanshin Tigers, drawing the highest audience numbers.

Player remuneration

The remuneration of athletes can offer insights into the financial structure and health of a sports league. Even though NPB was one of the best-attended sports leagues in the world (especially regarding average attendance per game) prior to the pandemic, the total value of the league, as well as the average remuneration of players, was significantly smaller than, for example, in Major League Baseball (MLB). Various factors shape player salaries in the NPB, including the team of a player, the position or role of the player, as well as the seniority principle. In the 2021 season, outfielders received on average nearly double as much as catchers did, while the best-paying team for the season (and in most of the past few years) were the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.