◇ Hokkaido Nippon-Ham 's highly popular player-produced bread is back again this year!

At the "Bread Festival 2026 in F Village," held from May 19th (Tuesday) to 24th (Sunday), the ever-popular player-produced breads will be sold in limited quantities each day. This year, the breads produced by players Yuki Nomura, Kota Tatsu pitcher, Fukuya pitcher, and Yua Tamiya will be available again. In addition, the highly popular "Superior Melon Bread" produced pitcher Koki Kitayama, which was a big hit last year, will also be available again.

◇Tohoku Rakuten Eagles will present caps to new first-grade elementary school students in the six Tohoku prefectures.

As part of its "TOHOKU SMILE ACTION" initiative, which aims to nurture children's dreams and bring energy and inspiration to the people of Tohoku through baseball and sports, Rakuten Eagles will be presenting Rakuten Eagles caps to all new first-grade elementary school students in the six Tohoku prefectures as a commemorative gift for entering elementary school.

This initiative began in 2014 with the cooperation of the six Tohoku prefectures and the education boards of each city and town. Now in its 13th year, this year the gifts will be distributed to 1,649 schools (including national, public, private, special needs schools, and schools for the disabled) and 52,120 new first-grade elementary school students in Tohoku. In addition, this year, Rakuten Eagles Angels, and the team's official mascot will visit one elementary school in each of the six Tohoku prefectures to present the gifts at the school's entrance ceremony.

Furthermore, there will be an invitation to watch a game for new first-grade elementary school students who receive a "Rakuten Eagles cap," as well as a field walk after the game.

◇ Fukuoka Softbank Hawks' Ukyo Shuto acquires domestic free agency rights

Ukyo Shuto of Fukuoka Softbank has acquired domestic free agency rights. He joined the team in 2017 as the second pick in the developmental draft and was registered as a regular player in 2019. This year marks his ninth year as a professional.

▼Comment from player Ukyo Shuto ▼
"I am happy as a professional baseball player to have acquired free agency rights, which are proof that I have played on the first team stage. I joined The Hawks as a developmental player, and I would not have been able to reach the point of becoming a regular player and acquiring free agency rights without the support of many people. I would also like to thank the team and the successive coaching staffs who have given me opportunities to play in the first team. I will continue to do my best to contribute to the team's consecutive championships and to becoming the best in Japan."

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