Japan
88 MLB Players
19 Active
Explore baseball talent from Japan • 1964–2026
📊 Quick Stats
88
Total Players
19
Active (2024+)
0
Hall of Famers
52
Birth Cities
⚾ By Position
0
Pitchers
0
Catchers
0
Infielders
0
Outfielders
🏙️ Top Birth Cities
Osaka
15
Tokyo
11
Chiba
4
Yokohama
3
Yokosuka
2
Hiroshima
2
Naha
2
Kochi
2
Kagoshima
2
Kobe
2
+ 42 more cities
⭐ Top Players
🔥 Notable Active Players
19 players👥 All Players from Japan
88 players
Decade:
Position:
Showing 25 of 88
| Player Name | Birth City | Pos | Debut | Final | G | HR | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shogo Akiyama | Yokosuka | - | 2020 | 2021 | 142 | - | 0.224 |
| Nori Aoki | Hyuga City | - | 2012 | 2017 | 759 | 33 | 0.285 |
| Kohei Arihara | Hiroshima | - | 2021 | 2022 | 15 | - | - |
| Jim Bowie | Tokyo | - | 1994 | 1994 | 6 | - | 0.214 |
| Steve Chitren | Tokyo | - | 1990 | 1991 | 64 | - | - |
| Yu Darvish ACT | Osaka | - | 2012 | 2025 | 297 | 1 | 0.099 |
| Bobby Fenwick | Naha | - | 1972 | 1973 | 41 | - | 0.179 |
| Kyuji Fujikawa | Kochi | - | 2013 | 2015 | 29 | - | - |
| Shintaro Fujinami | Sakai | - | 2023 | 2023 | 64 | - | - |
| Kosuke Fukudome | Kagoshima | - | 2008 | 2012 | 596 | 42 | 0.258 |
| Kazuo Fukumori | Miyakonojo | - | 2008 | 2008 | 4 | - | - |
| Shigetoshi Hasegawa | Kobe | - | 1997 | 2005 | 517 | - | - |
| Yoshihisa Hirano | Uji | - | 2018 | 2020 | 150 | - | - |
| Craig House | Naha Air Force Base | - | 2000 | 2000 | 16 | - | - |
| Ryota Igarashi | Chiba | - | 2010 | 2012 | 83 | - | - |
| Kei Igawa | Oarai | - | 2007 | 2008 | 16 | - | - |
| Tadahito Iguchi | Tokyo | - | 2005 | 2008 | 493 | 44 | 0.268 |
| Tatsuya Imai ACT | Kanuma | - | 2026 | 2026 | - | - | - |
| Shota Imanaga ACT | Kitakyushu | - | 2024 | 2026 | 54 | - | - |
| Hideki Irabu | Hirara | - | 1997 | 2002 | 126 | - | 0.107 |
| Kazuhisa Ishii | Chiba | - | 2002 | 2005 | 105 | 1 | 0.110 |
| Hisashi Iwakuma | Tokyo | - | 2012 | 2017 | 150 | - | - |
| Akinori Iwamura | Uwajima | - | 2007 | 2010 | 408 | 16 | 0.267 |
| Kenji Johjima | Nagasaki | - | 2006 | 2009 | 462 | 48 | 0.268 |
| Takashi Kashiwada | Tokyo | - | 1997 | 1997 | 35 | - | - |
| Kenshin Kawakami | Tokushima | - | 2009 | 2010 | 52 | - | 0.108 |
| Munenori Kawasaki | Kagoshima | - | 2012 | 2016 | 276 | 1 | 0.237 |
| Masao Kida | Tokyo | - | 1999 | 2005 | 65 | - | 0.250 |
| Yusei Kikuchi ACT | Morioka | - | 2019 | 2026 | 199 | - | - |
| Masahide Kobayashi | Yamanashi | - | 2008 | 2009 | 67 | - | - |
| Satoru Komiyama | Chiba | - | 2002 | 2002 | 25 | - | - |
| Hiroki Kuroda | Osaka | - | 2008 | 2014 | 212 | - | 0.100 |
| Masumi Kuwata | Osaka | - | 2007 | 2007 | 19 | - | - |
| Jung Hoo Lee ACT | Nagoya | - | 2024 | 2026 | 330 | 20 | 0.270 |
| Kenta Maeda ACT | Osaka | - | 2016 | 2025 | 238 | 1 | 0.156 |
| Kazuhisa Makita | Yaizu | - | 2018 | 2018 | 27 | - | - |
| Hideki Matsui | Nomi | - | 2003 | 2012 | 1,236 | 175 | 0.282 |
| Kazuo Matsui | Osaka | - | 2004 | 2010 | 630 | 32 | 0.267 |
| Yuki Matsui ACT | Yokohama | - | 2024 | 2026 | 125 | - | - |
| Daisuke Matsuzaka | Tokyo | - | 2007 | 2014 | 158 | - | 0.189 |
| Jeff McCurry | Tokyo | - | 1995 | 1999 | 111 | - | - |
| Keith McDonald | Yokosuka | - | 2000 | 2001 | 8 | 3 | 0.333 |
| Masanori Murakami | Otsuki | - | 1964 | 1965 | 54 | - | 0.125 |
| Munetaka Murakami ACT | Kumamoto | - | 2026 | 2026 | 127 | 35 | 0.207 |
| Toru Murata | Osaka | - | 2015 | 2015 | 1 | - | - |
| Micheal Nakamura | Nara | - | 2003 | 2004 | 31 | - | - |
| Norihiro Nakamura | Osaka | - | 2005 | 2005 | 17 | - | 0.128 |
| Rikuu Nishida ACT | Osaka | - | 2026 | 2026 | 12 | - | 0.241 |
| Tsuyoshi Nishioka | Osaka | - | 2011 | 2012 | 71 | - | 0.215 |
| Hideo Nomo | Osaka | - | 1995 | 2008 | 324 | 4 | 0.134 |
| Takahito Nomura | Kochi | - | 2002 | 2002 | 21 | - | - |
| Shinnosuke Ogasawara ACT | Fujisawa | - | 2025 | 2025 | 23 | - | - |
| Tomo Ohka | Kyoto | - | 1999 | 2009 | 204 | - | 0.138 |
| Shohei Ohtani ACT | Oshu | - | 2018 | 2026 | 1,172 | 310 | 0.281 |
| Hideki Okajima | Kyoto | - | 2007 | 2013 | 266 | - | - |
| Kazuma Okamoto ACT | Gojo | - | 2026 | 2026 | 156 | 33 | 0.232 |
| Akinori Otsuka | Chiba | - | 2004 | 2007 | 236 | - | - |
| Steve Randolph | Okinawa | - | 2003 | 2007 | 111 | - | 0.333 |
| Dave Roberts | Naha | - | 1999 | 2008 | 832 | 23 | 0.266 |
| Takashi Saito | Sendai | - | 2006 | 2012 | 338 | - | - |
| Kazuhiro Sasaki | Tokyo | - | 2000 | 2003 | 228 | - | - |
| Roki Sasaki ACT | Rikuzentakata | - | 2025 | 2026 | 10 | - | - |
| Hirokazu Sawamura | Tochigi | - | 2021 | 2022 | 104 | - | - |
| Kodai Senga ACT | Gamagori | - | 2023 | 2026 | 52 | - | - |
| Tsuyoshi Shinjo | Osaka | - | 2001 | 2003 | 303 | 20 | 0.245 |
| Tomoyuki Sugano ACT | Kanagawa | - | 2025 | 2026 | 30 | - | - |
| Ichiro Suzuki | Kasugai | - | 2001 | 2019 | 2,653 | 117 | 0.311 |
| Mac Suzuki | Kobe | - | 1996 | 2002 | 117 | - | 0.080 |
| Seiya Suzuki ACT | Arakawa | - | 2022 | 2026 | 675 | 113 | 0.269 |
| Kazuhito Tadano | Tokyo | - | 2004 | 2005 | 15 | - | 0.333 |
| So Taguchi | Nishinomiya | - | 2002 | 2009 | 672 | 19 | 0.279 |
| Hisanori Takahashi | Tokyo | - | 2010 | 2013 | 168 | - | 0.062 |
| Ken Takahashi | Yokohama | - | 2009 | 2009 | 28 | - | - |
| Shingo Takatsu | Hiroshima | - | 2004 | 2005 | 99 | - | - |
| Kensuke Tanaka | Chikushino | - | 2013 | 2013 | 15 | - | 0.267 |
| Masahiro Tanaka | Itami | - | 2014 | 2020 | 174 | - | 0.037 |
| Yoshinori Tateyama | Osaka | - | 2011 | 2012 | 53 | - | - |
| Junichi Tazawa | Yokohama | - | 2009 | 2018 | 388 | - | - |
| Yoshi Tsutsugo | Hashimoto | - | 2020 | 2022 | 182 | 18 | 0.197 |
| Koji Uehara | Osaka | - | 2009 | 2017 | 436 | - | - |
| Naoyuki Uwasawa ACT | Matsudo | - | 2024 | 2024 | 2 | - | - |
| Tsuyoshi Wada | Izumo | - | 2014 | 2015 | 21 | - | 0.036 |
| Keiichi Yabu | Mihama | - | 2005 | 2008 | 100 | - | - |
| Yasuhiko Yabuta | Osaka | - | 2008 | 2009 | 43 | - | - |
| Shun Yamaguchi | Nakatsu | - | 2020 | 2020 | 17 | - | - |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto ACT | Bizen | - | 2024 | 2026 | 48 | - | - |
| Masataka Yoshida ACT | Fukui | - | 2023 | 2026 | 390 | 34 | 0.280 |
| Masato Yoshii | Osaka | - | 1998 | 2002 | 162 | 1 | 0.123 |
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Players born in Japan
The site lists 88 major league players born in Japan. The earliest debut belongs to Masanori Murakami, in 1964. The most recent debut year on the list is 2026, for Tatsuya Imai, Munetaka Murakami, and Rikuu Nishida. By birth city, Osaka leads, ahead of Tokyo and Chiba. More Japan-born players debuted in the 2000s than in any other decade. Ichiro Suzuki has played the most games of any Japan-born player, 2,653. For home runs, Shohei Ohtani is first with 310. The best average among players with long careers is .311, by Ichiro Suzuki. The full table can be filtered by decade and position and sorted by any column. Birthplaces are taken from the Lahman biographical record, so players are grouped by country of birth, not by nationality.
📅 Players by Decade
2020s
21
2010s
18
2000s
35
1990s
12
1970s
1
1960s
1