Overview

• The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs will face off in the 2025 MLB season opener at Tokyo Dome, featuring a historic matchup of Japanese starting pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga.
• Shohei Ohtani, coming off a record-breaking season, leads a Dodgers team that has become a fan favorite in Japan, drawing massive local interest and sold-out games.
• Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly advocates for MLB to modernize its revenue-sharing rules to capitalize on international markets, arguing that current policies hinder global expansion efforts.
• Japanese baseball faces challenges as more top players, like Roki Sasaki and young talents Rintaro Sasaki and Shotaro Morii, move directly to MLB or bypass Nippon Professional Baseball entirely.
• MLB officials emphasize the importance of local leagues for talent development, while Japanese baseball authorities express confidence in maintaining domestic interest despite the outflow of players.