Softbank Hawks, which won the Japan Series for the first time in five years, held a ``welcome parade'' on the 31st in Miyazaki City, where its spring training camp is held.

"Tomorrow marks the start of our training camp. With today's parade as the final event, we will erase the memory of winning the Japan Series championship. In keeping with this year's slogan (All New), we want to create a brand new team with a completely fresh mind and make a fresh start toward our third consecutive Pacific League championship and second consecutive Japan Series title," said manager Hiroki Kokubo in his speech before the parade. The team boarded the lead car and drove about 650 meters from JR Miyazaki Station, waving to the approximately 45,000 fans (according to organizers) who lined the road.

The "welcome parade" in Miyazaki City is only held the year after the team becomes the best in Japan, and was not held last year when the team lost in the Japan Series despite winning the league championship. The parade was not held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so this was the first time it was held in six years since 2020.