Four Softbank Hawks players who are members of the WBC Japan national team—Ukyo Shuto, Kensuke Kondo, Taisei Makihara, and Yuki Matsumoto—ended their Miyazaki training camp on the 12th to join the national team's training camp in Miyazaki. Shuto, who will be participating in his second consecutive tournament, was encouraged by manager Kokubo during practice, who put his arm around his shoulder and said, "You may not get many at-bats, but do your best for the national team." outfield will see fierce competition, with teammate Kondo, along with Masataka Yoshida (Red Sox), Seiya Suzuki (Cubs), Shota Morishita (Hanshin Tigers), and infield Kazuma Okamoto (Blue Jays) and Teruaki Sato (Hanshin Tigers) all potentially starting line-up.

Manager Kokubo said, "Please come and represent your country. I told them I'm rooting for them on Netflix (which exclusively streams in Japan)."