Taipei, July 09: Taiwan told Japan Thursday it was willing to take over hosting the Asia Series baseball games if Tokyo decides against hosting it, the Central News Agency (CNA) said Thursday.
Lee Wen-pin, secretary-general of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), told Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) secretary-general Kazuo Hasegawa in Tokyo Thursday Taiwan could take over next year.
Hasegawa asked Lee to submit a concrete take-over plan. He will consult Japan’s 12 baseball teams and then make a response to Taiwan’s proposal, it was reported.
The Asia Series, a competition between Asian professional baseball teams, was launched in 2005 with the top team from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China participating.
The tournament is held in October or November at the Tokyo Dome, and Japan has won the event each year.
NPB is considering dropping it, or turning it into a tournament between only Japan and South Korea, due to the high cost of hosting the event.
During Thursday’s meeting, Lee told Hasegawa that if the Japan-South Korea solution is finalized, Taiwan would also want to join it as the third team in the event.
—Agencies