I love the WBC, but Opening Day is still special. This year marks my return to baseball writing after being forced to take a sabbatical for most of 2025.

Before getting to the games, it is worth noting that NPB has done away with its two minor leagues, the Eastern and Western leagues, and replaced them with a single Farm League, broken into three divisions.

The warning

Another new feature of NPB’s website is a red warning label describing NPB’s clear prohibition against fans sharing photos or videos of players during games.

As some of you may recall, NPB established this rule last year. The rules explicitly said those wishing to share photos and videos of games could do so with the express permission of the home team.

Since becoming a tour guide last year, I have begun tuning into Facebook groups for visitors to Japan, holy mother of Jones, is there a shit load of misinformation being passed around as absolute truths about Japan, such as “Japanese always follow the rules.”

If Japanese all followed the rules, the Tokyo subways wouldn’t have posters reminding riders not to spit, strike, kick, or shout at subway staff.

When I quiz my guests if they know the rule for what to do with trash in hand when out and about, they say, “take it with you until you get home or to your hotel,” and that IS the Japan rule, but as often as not, Japanese will take their trash home– provided they don’t first come across a convenience store with a bin that says “Our bin is not for your household trash,” because that is where it will likely go.

What I mean to say, is that if you want to understand Japan, you need to pay careful attention to what people do, rather than what they say. In my experience, Japanese rarely ever criticize rules in public, but disregard them when necessary.

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