Nippon Professional Baseball owners and players hold rare direct talks on lottery expansion
Nippon Professional Baseball team owners and the players' association held direct negotiations on March 28, 2026 in Tokyo, discussing business expansion including the addition of baseball lottery tickets. The rare meeting included active players and covered declining baseball participation and enhancing international value.
Nippon Professional Baseball team owners and the Nippon Professional Baseball Players Association held direct negotiations on March 28, 2026 in Tokyo, discussing a wide range of issues including business expansion such as joining the sports promotion lottery. The direct meeting between owners and players is considered a rare occurrence.
Regarding baseball lottery tickets, at the owners' meeting held on March 16, the sport's highest decision-making body, discussions had already begun with the aim of securing funding for sports promotion projects.
Active players including players' association head Kensuke Kondo (SoftBank) participated in the negotiations. The meeting also addressed the issue of declining baseball participation and efforts to enhance the sport's international value.
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