Koshien Bans Fans From Holding Up Player Name Signs — “Treating Players Like Heroes Isn’t Desirable” Sparks Debate

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Yomiuri Shimbun reporting has revealed that tournament organizers at Koshien Stadium, site of the 108th National High School Baseball Championship, have been cracking down on fans who hold up boards bearing individual players’ names. Citing the “educational purpose” laid out in the Japan Student Baseball Charter, organizers say “cheering that treats an individual player as a hero is not desirable” — though voicing support itself is not a problem.

On 5ch, users traded a range of reactions over just how blurry that line is — from the finger-pointing pose players strike after winning the title, to towels printed with individual names, to how TV broadcasts stage their coverage.

High School Baseball: Koshien Says “Cheering That Treats an Individual as a Hero Is Not Desirable”… Holding Up Signs With Players’ Names Is Banned, Cheering Itself Is OK : Yomiuri Shimbun

By Seigo Ota, Kohei Yamauchi

The 108th National High School Baseball Championship (Koshien Stadium) reaches its final on the 22nd. Forty-seven games have been played so far, each greeted with passionate cheering. However, tournament organizers have put a stop to cheering that involves holding up boards printed with players’ names. This is banned under the “educational purpose” defined by the Japan Student Baseball Charter, which holds that “cheering that treats an individual as a hero is not desirable.” Spectators unaware of the ban have been left confused, while cheer squad leaders are struggling with how to get the word out. (By Seigo Ota, Kohei Yamauchi)

Source: yomiuri.co.jp / Original article here

3Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 09:47:44.18ID:8nAYNudx0
What if it's like Yamada-kun from Aomori Yamada (a school whose name already has 'Yamada' in it)?
6Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 09:49:04.79ID:yuZBDzgP0
They should probably ban the 'Nettō Kōshien' highlight show (NHK's nightly recap program) too
Heck, maybe the whole TV broadcast while they're at it
175Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:25:32.35ID:zeJVRUmy0
>>6
It'd be cleaner if they just showed the game progress plainly like they used to. Apparently they switched to the current style because ratings dropped, but now the show focuses way too much on individual players.
10Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 09:49:54.43ID:VxQw4l+p0
Take it up with the trash media ("masugomi") that manufactures a new hero every single year
14Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 09:50:58.65ID:ohEaR6Ya0
They should ban that thing too, where the second a commentator shows up the talk turns straight to "so-and-so-kun"
16Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 09:51:28.33ID:HHZ2G5020
More importantly, get rid of the old geezers who try to whip up a one-sided mood cheering for just one school
17Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 09:51:34.90ID:7ZLMSc2/0
Treating them like heroes is fine, isn't it? Just ban the boards with individual names on them
19Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 09:51:54.21ID:QlnsuSAR0
"Once-in-a-decade talent" — do they still find one of those every single year?
106Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:10:05.58ID:xW5FKufv0
>>19
Once-in-a-decade pitcher, once-in-a-decade catcher… keep stacking labels like that and it's not weird to get one every year
20Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 09:51:55.35ID:x2etGtSe0
The media should stop broadcasting this stuff so over-the-top
21Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 09:51:58.96ID:H740GJDr0
So then reporting with individual names attached should be banned too, right?
23Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 09:52:32.59ID:tZ9NsLa/0
Guess from now on we'll just have to chant "Go get 'em, Minor A!" (a term normally used for anonymous juvenile crime suspects)
24Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 09:52:57.35ID:Jl5yrc5s0
Who knows, Japan might produce its own Virat Kohli someday
28Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 09:53:24.25ID:UBPGXFeW0
What's even the issue here? They just cheer for whoever's up at bat in turn, so it's uniform either way
37Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 09:55:39.65ID:Tke9dKHr0
What is this, some kind of authoritarian control? Such an old-fashioned mindset — just scrap it already
66Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:01:19.90ID:UgmlONSM0
>>37
Old-fashioned, sure, maybe — but lately, thanks to "oshi-katsu" fan-support culture and the like, there are people who'll casually do stuff that would normally count as excessive cheering. I think there's at least some reason they feel they have to crack down
58Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:00:02.68ID:y+wAgwXZ0
Cameraman: "Who cares about the players" https://n.picvr.net/2608181337485797.jpg
https://n.picvr.net/2608181338109213.gif
68Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:02:28.15ID:npKyYK4l0
>>58
Pretty modest, lol. Only taking home one little bottle's worth?
94Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:07:27.73ID:++zPDHXB0
>>58
Thought it was ABC but it's actually NHK? That's one more reason to refuse to pay the license fee
99Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:09:01.33ID:MgN+ZpOG0
I guess the point is: don't do this "oshi-katsu" fan-worship stuff to high school ballplayers, right?
103Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:09:37.60ID:fUvlOM280
Everybody's a hero
112Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:11:16.42ID:7Biyfy1e0
>>103
No way that's true
104Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:09:52.85ID:gMOfyXGp0
I hate that thing where everyone raises their index finger together after winning the championship. When did that even start? Seriously, ban it
117Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:12:11.72ID:xW5FKufv0
>>104
That really is obnoxious. At the very least, I think the Federation should ban doing it on the mound before the players line up. If they want to do it, do it in front of their own cheering section after the lineup and greetings
134Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:16:37.82ID:DA6tRmDM0
>>104
Komazawa University Tomakomai started it. It's been over 20 years since then, and the only team that's never done it is Chukyo Daichukyo
148Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:19:31.41ID:++zPDHXB0
>>104
It's not like they're broadcasting this for old guys who worship high school baseball. If it bothers you, don't watch. I didn't even watch the final myself
125Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:14:21.27ID://O8gZ3i0
It's like something straight out of wartime
126Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:14:26.43ID:ttq2+Ynd0
This kind of dumb self-censorship is exactly why the whole country is in decline
132Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:16:06.30ID:suktWUwr0
Back in middle school, it was the Federation and the media hyping up "Handkerchief Prince" (nickname for star pitcher Yuki Saito, famous for wiping sweat with a handkerchief)

Same sloppy stuff now as then, lol
138Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:17:35.12ID:uYB4VxPM0
>>132
Sure, the media made a fuss — fine. But "the Federation hyped it up" makes no sense. What exactly did the Federation actually do?
141Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:17:45.38ID:eo3m6c5x0
https://www.towel-itohide.co.jp/SHOP/NM400-SL-01.html

There are even companies that make towels printed with individual players' names
Go complain to them
179Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:26:45.93ID:uYB4VxPM0
>>141
It's not spectators unfurling big towels and waving them during the Koshien game — it's more that the players themselves or their families order them made, to hand out to people back home who supported them. They even trade custom towels with players from other schools
165Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:23:34.93ID:k0Nxs8E00
Every school's cheering is just a knockoff of the Yomiuri Giants (mocking nickname "Kyokasu") or the Lotte Marines style — zero originality anywhere
176Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:26:08.26ID:++zPDHXB0
>>165
That "Age Age Hoi Hoi" chant (a Lotte Marines cheer song) is gross too
174Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:25:13.31ID:km/SegTF0
See? Told ya it's just "yakyuu" (a mocking, dumbed-down way of writing "baseball") (lol)
No wonder people are tuning out (lol)
180Anonymous2026/08/22(土) 10:27:09.12ID:nJLJjd8V0
>>174
https://tval-now.switch-m.com/
The Koshien final's TV ratings are insane, lol

*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “[High School Baseball] Koshien: “Cheering That Treats an Individual as a Hero Is Not Desirable”… Holding Up Signs With Players’ Names Is Banned, Cheering Itself Is OK.”

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