Samurai Japan, aiming for a second consecutive championship at the WBC in March, will face Softbank Hawks in the "Ragzas Samurai Japan Series 2026" on the 23rd at Hinata Sun Marine Stadium Miyazaki. Following their decisive victory in the same game on the 22nd, Samurai Japan has announced Hibiki Shinohara as their starting pitcher for the 23rd.

Shinohara is a 19-year-old right-hander from Seibu Lions who was just selected as a Samurai Japan support member on the 22nd. Although the Samurai team's situation is one thing, the unexpected prearranged start by a non-WBC Japan representative was met with a lot of questions on the Internet, such as "Is Shinohara seriously going to be the prearranged starter? What happened?" "I thought Shinohara-kun was selected as a member of the support team, but he has risen to the starting lineup.

This is a valuable opportunity for a promising Seibu Lions player. On the morning of the 20th, he was called by manager Nishiguchi and prepared to be demoted to the second team, but was instead told that he had been selected as a support member. After a crisis in the second team, he has now made a complete turnaround and is now a starter for the top team. This could be a chance to make the name "Hibiki Shinohara" known throughout Japan.