Here's how Japan has become king of baseball on the world stage

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Major Leagues may be considered the top baseball league globally. But in international competition, Japan reigns supreme.

Since the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006, Samurai Japan is the only country to win multiple titles, having come out on top of three of the five events in that span. In the '26 edition of the tournament, the reigning champions will look to establish themselves once more as the best in the world.

Major League and Nippon Professional Baseball stars have represented Japan in the Classic, chief among them Shohei Ohtani, who closed out the title game on the mound and earned tournament MVP honors in 2023. But star power alone has not vaulted Samurai Japan into rarefied air. The way national team manager Hirokazu Ibata sees it, his players have a common upbringing in the game that breeds success as time goes on.

"I think from a very young age, Japanese players play this style of baseball," Ibata said through an interpreter on Tuesday at the Winter Meetings. "You start from a very young age, you learn at a very young age, and you continue to progress as your life goes on. Those fundamentals, those philosophies, I think, really carry as these players mature, which is probably a big reason for the success for Japan in international tournaments."

High school is a formative time in that regard, as that's when youth ballplayers participate in the Koshien tournaments. Considered the top amateur sporting event in Japan, Summer Koshien, in particular, is at the height of many young players' aspirations.

The tournament is known for its intensity. Daisuke Matsuzaka famously threw 250 pitches in 17 innings in the 1998 Summer Koshien quarterfinals, just one day after tossing a 148-pitch complete game. Feats of that ilk are not completely out of the ordinary, with young ballplayers leaving it all out on the field for their team.

It is a matter of pride, similar to when they play for their country at the international level.

"Especially high schoolers, I think they're taught how to win," Ibata said. "And I think they carry that mindset, they carry the mentality, all the way through when they're pros, which I think has a big impact on why Japan is so successful."

It's a difficult recipe for success to replicate, but other countries have tried as they might to emulate it. The leadership for Team USA, whom Japan beat in the 2023 World Baseball Classic title game, has taken notice of their opponent's cohesion, which can be a challenge for a national team.

"There's a sense of a team with them, that they're comfortable with each other," Team USA general manager Michael Hill said. "They've been working out for months together. So on top of being prepared, there's already a teamwork that they already have in place. I think that plays a big part, when you're talking about a three-week tournament and knowing who you're standing next to."

Winning goes a long way toward reinforcing that culture, and Japan has done a lot of winning at the international level in baseball. They have their eyes on the prize once again at the 2026 Classic.