World Baseball Classic in Japan

Hi,

I am wondering just how big the World Baseball Classic is in Japan. I know the games are watched by millions but do bars have drink and food specials? Do salarymen stop working during the games that are taking place in the US? Are the games shown on pay or free television? Do the major newspapers have lots of coverage?

Lets hope for a well played and close game during tonights US vs. Japan semifinal match up.

I realize that there always have been very few baseball fans on this Forum, and I'm afraid that neither am I.

But since Japan had been doing well at WBC, many people here in Japan seemed to be following the games. The games had been broadcast on free major TV.

My understanding is that the games Japan had been playing in were held during dinner time in Japan, so salarymen who can afford to stop working would've left their offices by then.

The major newspapers have mostly been covering a couple of political news that is gossipy at the same time, but as of March 22, WBC was the top news among the sports pages. On March 25, the top sports news was the annual high school baseball, and WBC was the smallest of the sports pages.

I wonder if anyone else has something to share. Japan hit a home run before they lost, didn't they?

Thank you for your answer.

Japan did lose in the semifinals to the U.S. by a score of 2-1. The Japanese 2nd basemen did hit a home run.

I enjoy watching on TV the games that were played in Tokyo. The games started at 5am here in NY. Having good baseball being played before I went to work made for a good start to the day!