All 28 players who will participate in the "Luxas Asia Professional Baseball Championship 2026" to be held at Tokyo Dome from Thursday, November 12th to Sunday, November 15th, have been announced.

This tournament allows players aged 24 or younger, or within their first three years of joining a team, as well as up to three overage players aged 29 or younger. 15 players were selected from the Pacific League, including Seiya Watanabe, Koki Yamaguchi, and Tomoya Masaki. The list of participating players and comments from Pacific League players are as follows.

※Player Name (number / team)

【pitcher】
Seiya Yoshida (11／Chunichi)
Kazuyuki Takemaru (12／The Giants)
Yutaro Ishida (14／Yokohama DeNA)
Natsuki Takeuchi (16／Seibu Lions)
Hiroto Takahashi (19／Chunichi)
Yumeto Kanamaru (21／Chunichi)
Taichi Taka (22／Hiroshima)
Gota Suzuki (26／Fukuoka Softbank)
Kengo Matsumoto (28／Yakult)
Ryu Kutani (45／Rakuten Eagles)
Shunya Morita (47／The Giants)
Hibiki Shinohara (52／Seibu Lions)
Shunsuke Nakamori (56／Chiba Lotte Marines)

【catcher】
Shion Matsuo (5／Yokohama DeNA)
Taiga Kojima (7／Seibu Lions)
Yuya Shindo (33／Hokkaido Nippon-Ham)

【infielder】
Rui Muneyama (1／Rakuten Eagles)
Seiya Watanabe (8／Seibu Lions)
Akira Sasaki (10／Hiroshima)
Yudai Shoji (25／Fukuoka Softbank)
Tomoya Masaki (31／Fukuoka Softbank)
Koki Yamaguchi (51／Chiba Lotte Marines)
Shu Yamagata (54／Hokkaido Nippon-Ham)

【outfielder】
Ryuki Watarai (4／Yokohama DeNA)
Misho Nishikawa (6／Chiba Lotte Marines)
Shunsuke Sasaki (44／The Giants)
Shinya Hasegawa (63／Seibu Lions)
Konosuke Tatsumi (69／Hiroshima)

▼Yuya Shindo Comment▼
「The Japan national team is a precious opportunity, so I want to enjoy this chance. Since entering the pros, I have had few opportunities to play with players from other teams, so I intend to learn many things and lead them to a level up. There is a special feeling, but I will approach it with my usual style of play.」

▼Shu Yamagata Comment▼
「Since it is a place where high-level players gather, I want to contribute to the team's win while absorbing various things. It is the first time I have worn the Japan uniform since the university national team, so I will feel pride while keeping in mind a style of play that is true to myself.」

▼pitcher Ryu Kutani Comment▼
「I am very honored to be selected as a member of the national team. Since it is a precious opportunity, I want to absorb many things while also connecting them to my own growth. I will do my best to contribute to the team's win.」

▼Rui Muneyama Comment▼
「I am very honored to be selected for Samurai Japan. As I will be playing as a member of Samurai Japan representing the Rakuten Eagles, I want to prepare thoroughly so that I can give everything I currently have. And I will do my best to contribute to the win. Thank you for your support.」

▼pitcher Natsuki Takeuchi Comment▼
「I am extremely honored to be selected for the national team. It is a tournament centered on young players, but I will do my best to demonstrate my strength and contribute to the team. Also, since it is a precious opportunity to interact with players from other teams, I want to actively converse and exchange information. Since it is a place where many players with high abilities even of the same generation gather, I want to ask about things they are conscious of in their daily lives, especially meals and body care, and incorporate them into myself.」

▼pitcher Hibiki Shinohara Comment▼
「I am very happy to be selected for the national team. As it is my first time on the national team, I want to do my best to contribute to the team's win while also absorbing the good points of my teammates. I think high-level players will gather for each country's representative team, so I want to challenge how far my own balls will work against opponents different from those in Japan. I want to demonstrate my strength and throw with all my might to properly act as a closer against the opponent.」

▼Taiga Kojima Comment▼
「I am very happy to be selected for the national team. While being grateful for being able to have such a precious experience, I want to do my best to make use of it for my future growth. Since it is a precious opportunity to play against players from other countries, I also have feelings of excitement. I want to play boldly so that you can see my characteristic batting in the games.」

▼Seiya Watanabe Comment▼
「I am happy to be selected for the Japan national team. Since it is a precious opportunity where high-level players gather, I want to contribute to the team by demonstrating my strength while absorbing many things. Also, I think there are things I can ask precisely because we are of the same generation, so I want to actively interact with players from other teams and connect the learning I gain there to my future growth.」

▼Shinya Hasegawa Comment▼
「I am happy to be selected for the Japan national team, and I also feel responsibility. I am grateful to be able to fight carrying Japan on my back, and I want to play boldly. To show that Japan is the strongest, I want to demonstrate the experience I cultivated this season in this tournament and contribute to the team's win. I also want to actively listen to stories from players of other teams and connect that to my technical improvement.」

▼Koki Yamaguchi Comment▼
「I am honored to be selected. While I have never had the experience of being selected for a representative team like this since I was small, I am happy to be able to experience it now on the professional stage. I hope to produce solid results as an overage player, and I will do my best to show my good points in batting. I am happy to be able to play baseball with Manager Iguchi again.」

▼pitcher Shunsuke Nakamori Comment▼
「I am very happy to be able to carry the Hinomaru on my back for the first time, including from my student days, and I want to play with all my might, grateful for being selected.」

▼pitcher Misho Nishikawa Comment▼
「I am truly honored and happy. As expected, I want to do my best for Japan so that I can appear in games and produce results.」

▼pitcher Gota Suzuki Comment▼
「I am very happy to be selected for the Japan national team. I feel very honored to be allowed to have such an experience in my first year as a pro. I want to do my best in my own way so that I can leave solid results in the situations I am given.」

▼Yudai Shoji Comment▼
「This is the first time I have been selected for the national team, so I am honestly happy. Since I have been selected as a representative of The Hawks and my generation, I want to approach it with a sense of responsibility and strong feelings. I want you to see my speed and defense, which are my strengths.」

▼Tomoya Masaki Comment▼
「I am very happy to be selected for the Japan national team. Since I think I will be among the older ones in age, I want to have a firm sense of awareness and responsibility, and do my best to demonstrate my strength to the maximum so that I can become a presence that leads the team, not just through my play.」