The 2026 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC™ will be held in March 2026. Aiming to become world champions for the second consecutive tournament, the Japanese national team will be led by manager Hirokazu Ibata. Supporting the team will be seven coaches. This time, we will take a look at the history of this leadership team, both as players and as coaches.

Director Hirokazu Ibata
number: 89
Career statistics: 1,896 games played, 1,912 hit, 56 Home Run, 510 RBI, 149 stolen base, batting average .281, on-base percentage .352

During his playing days, he was a talented infielder who built the golden age of Chunichi, and was named to the Best Nine five times and won the Mitsui Golden Glove Award for short stop seven times. He also participated in the 2013 WBC, where he was selected as DH for the tournament.

After retiring from The Giants in 2015, he served as a first-team coach for the team until 2018. As a coach for the national team, he participated in the 2019 Premier 12 and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

He then served as the manager of Samurai Japan U-12 before becoming the manager of the top team in October 2023. His first tournament was the Asia Professional baseball Championship 2023, which he won with a perfect record. In the 2024 Premier12, he suffered his first loss since taking over as manager in the final, finishing as runner-up. He will aim to win the tournament for the second time in a row at the 2026 WBC.

Head Coach Makoto Kaneko
number: 88
Career statistics: 1,996 games played, 1,627 hit, 84 Home Run, 620 RBI, 113 stolen base, .256 batting average, .307 on-base percentage

In 1996, he won Pacific League Rookie of the Year award with a batting average of .261 in 117 games. He was selected to the Best Nine in 1999 and won the Mitsui Golden Glove Award as second baseman in 1998 and 1999, and as short stop in 2009. As a leading infielder, he participated in the Athens Olympics in 2004.

After spending his entire playing career with The Fighters, he became a coach for the team after retiring. From 2023 until last year, he served as a first-team coach for Chiba Lotte Marines. As a coach for the Japanese national team, he participated in the 2019 Premier12, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and the 2024 Premier12. This will be his first time participating in the WBC, including his time as a player.

Battery coach Yoshinori Murata
number: 74
Career statistics: 302 games played, 132 hit, 6 Home Run, 43 RBI, 1 stolen base, .213 batting average, .268 on-base percentage

He played his entire career with The Giants from 1993 to 2008. In 2000, he played in a career-high 76 games, batting .268 Home Run and 13 RBI. With current The Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe joining the team as the first draft pick that same year, he played less thereafter, but continued to support the team as a backup catcher. After retiring from active play, he served as a scorer and coach for The Giants, and this year he was appointed chief battery coach.

He has been the national team coach since 2016 and has extensive experience coaching in international tournaments, including the 2017 WBC, 2019 Premier 12, 2021 Tokyo Olympics, 2023 WBC, and 2024 Premier 12.

Atsushi Nomi, pitcher coach
number: 84
Career statistics: 474 appearances, 104 wins (93 losses), 4 saves, 57 hold, 1,517 strike out, 3.35 ERA

Coach Nohmi will be pitcher coach for the Japan national team from March 2025. During his playing career, he played for Hanshin Tigers as a left-handed ace for 16 years and also played Orix Buffaloes for two years. With Hanshin Tigers, he achieved double-digit win five times and recorded the most strike out in 2012. The following year, in 2013, he participated in the WBC, pitching in a total of three games.

In his later years, he switched to relief pitching, and in 2019, when he turned 40, he pitched in 51 games, breaking the record for the most appearances in a season by a player in his 40s. After transferring to Orix Buffaloes, he served as a pitcher-coach, and was a teammate of pitchers Hiroya Miyagi, pitcher Yamamoto, Kenya Wakatsuki, and Masataka Yoshida on this year's WBC team.

Kazuki Yoshimi pitcher Coach
number: 81
Active career record : 223 appearances, 90 wins (56 losses), 11 hold, 845 strike out, ERA 2.94

Boasting outstanding control, he was the reigning Chunichi ace and helped Chunichi achieve a golden era of double-digit win wins for five consecutive years from 2008 to 2012. He won the most wins title in 2009, and in 2011, he won the best ERA (1.65), most wins (18), highest winning percentage (.857), best pitcher and best nine innings.

After retiring, he worked as a U-12 pitcher coach for the Japan national team and as a coach for the top team pitcher, supporting manager Ibata, who was his teammate in Chunichi.

Eishin Bon infield defense and base running Coach
number：77
Active career totals: 1096 games, 990 hit, 74 Home Run, 357 RBI, 135 stolen base, .264 batting average, .331 on base percentage

In 2006, he won the Rookie of the Year award with a .289 batting average in 123 games; in 2010, he played in all 144 games and won the Mitsui Golden Glove Award in the most stolen base (43) and short stop categories. In the same year, he also hit well with a .306 batting average, 13 Home Run and 56 RBI.

After finishing his active career, he coached at Orix Buffaloes from 2021 to 2024, and from 2025 to Hanshin Tigers. He has been invited to coach the national team since October 2023, when Ibata became the first team coach.

Yoshiyuki Kamei outfield defense ・ base running Coach
number：79
Total active career record : 1413 games, 1069 hit, 101 Home Run, 462 RBI, 61 stolen base, batting average .257, on base percentage .311

In 2008, his fourth year as a professional, he emerged with a .268 batting average in 96 games, and was selected as a member of the 2009 WBC. In the same year, he played in 134 games, the most in his career, and contributed to the team's league championship with a .290 batting average, 25 Home Run and 71 RBI. He also won the Mitsui Golden Glove Award.

Although he suffered repeated injuries from then on, he reached the regulation batting average for the first time in nine years in 2018. In the opening game of the 2021 season, he became the first player in NPB history to hit walk-off home run in place of a batter in the opening game. After his retirement, he became a coach at The Giants in 2022. He has been the coach of the Japan National Team since October 2023, the same as Coach Brahma.

Nobuhiro Matsuda fielder General Coach
number：71
Active career totals: 1922 games, 1832 hit, 301 Home Run, 991 RBI, 135 stolen base, .265 batting average, .318 on base percentage

After establishing himself as a third baseman regular in 2008, he won the Mitsui Golden Glove Award a total of eight times from 2011 and 2013 to 2019. in 2018, he played in all 143 games, batting .248, with 32 Home Run and 82 RBI, and was named to the Best Nine. Fukuoka Softbank In addition to contributing to seven Japan championships as a mainstay of the team, he was also a mood-maker, performing home run after the team's 2015 slogan, "Hot Otoko."

He has represented Japan twice in the WBC (2013 and 2017) and twice in the Premier 12 (2015 and 2019). He joined the top team coaches in March 2025.

Three years have passed since that dramatic victory. With a completely changed leadership team, the new Samurai Japan is once again aiming for the top spot.