On September 16, Rakuten owner Hiroshi Mikitani, attending the 12-team owners’ meeting for the first time in seven years, revealed that he had urged NPB to quickly adopt the “pitch clock,” which limits the time between pitches, and the automated ball-strike system “ABS.” He argued that both systems have helped revive MLB’s popularity in the US, and that shortening game times would also ease the burden on players. In the 5ch thread, some voiced support (“they should adopt it ASAP”), while others pushed back on the premise of the proposal itself — questioning who would cover the implementation costs, whether regional stadiums could support the system, and whether there’s actually data showing MLB’s popularity has recovered.
September 16, 2026, 3:39 PM
Rakuten owner Hiroshi Mikitani attended the 12-team owners’ meeting held in Tokyo on the 16th — his first appearance since 2019, seven years ago. Speaking to reporters afterward, he revealed that he had proposed NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) quickly adopt the “pitch clock,” which sets time limits for pitchers and batters between pitches, along with ABS (Automated Ball-Strike system).
Mikitani explained: “Adopting this in the US has helped revive MLB’s popularity. Our own team’s games feel a bit long too, and I think players would rather have shorter games with less strain than longer ones. Even if there are various issues, I think it’d be good to allow some exceptions and get it implemented as soon as possible.”
Source: chunichi.co.jp / Original article here
3AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:54
Let's add strike-zone overlays to the broadcast footage too — Korean pro baseball already does it.
4AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:55
Didn't know you were even into baseball.
17AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:00
Re: #4
Of course he's into it — the guy sends faxes to meddle with the lineup card.
20AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:01
Re: #17
But he never actually shows up to games lol
56AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:24
Re: #17
Rakuten's still using fax machines in this day and age? lol
5AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:55
The cost of implementing ABS is covered by each team. If someone said 'Rakuten plays games in Akita, Yamagata, and Fukushima too, so cover those stadiums as well,' he'd flip to the opposition instantly.
11AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:58
Re: #5
ABS adoption is only planned for the 12 teams' home stadiums. Regional stadiums can't support it.
6AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:55
The rush is suspicious. What's he really scheming?
9AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:57
Wow, didn't realize he still cared about baseball lol. Go fix Rakuten Mobile instead, lol.
10AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:57
Popularity revival? And specifically thanks to the pitch clock and ABS?
13AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:58
Mickey (Mikitani's nickname) is a total newbie on this — the pitch clock and PitchCom need to be introduced together, otherwise it's overwhelmingly in the batter's favor.
14AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:00
Did he discover that the frequency bands used by the pitch clock and ABS equipment can be controlled through Rakuten Mobile?
18AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:01
Re: #14
He's probably angling to build the system himself.
22AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:01
Since it uses AI, this is a natural stance for Rakuten as an IT company. It's completely contradictory for people who wanted to win the WBC so badly to oppose this. If you're not used to it, it's rough going — it took about a year before ABS finally started to feel watchable.
23AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:01
There's no fixed game length, so they can take their time playing and we can take our time watching. It's just like golf.
24AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:02
Re: #1
> Owner Mikitani said, "Adopting this in the US has helped revive MLB's popularity."
Looking at the compound annual revenue growth rate (CAGR) of major North American sports leagues since 2015:
NBA: 10.7%
NFL: 7.5%
NHL: 6.8%
MLB: 2.7%
If MLB had matched the NBA's growth rate, league revenue would be roughly double what it is now.
https://www.mlb.com/ja/news/mlb-competitive-balance-issue-explained
The Premier League is at 7.3%.
25AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:02
Why does some guy like you even get to make proposals?
27AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:03
Re: #25
He's a team owner, dude.
32AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:06
Re: #20
Well, of course he's not going all the way to Sendai — but he does show up for games hosted at Tokyo Dome.
34AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:06
Re: #32
But he's flown all the way to Spain to watch Barcelona matches multiple times.
33AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:06
Who's footing the bill for implementation?
35AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:07
Well, setting the machine umpiring aside, if players don't get used to the pitch clock, they won't be able to handle it in international games.
36AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:07
Wait, isn't ABS the Anti-lock Braking System? (joking on the acronym overlap with car brakes)
37AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:07
Of course everything MLB adopts should just be adopted here too.
40AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:08
Re: #34
Come on, don't say that — there's no other owner who'd actually pour money into a team based in Sendai.
42AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:09
Umpiring is basically risking your life out there, so they should just get rid of home-plate umpires.
43AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:12
Who pays the cost? SoftBank should, obviously — they're hogging all the league titles, so the least they can do is cover that.
44AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:12
I usually watch MLB, but I caught an NPB game for the first time in a while recently and thought the gap between pitches isn't so bad in its own way — you get to really take in the players' expressions. Made me feel like the pitcher really is the star of Japanese baseball.
ABS, though, should be adopted ASAP.
45AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:12
Thought he'd already given up on the team. Didn't realize he still cared.
46AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:13
Japanese umpires' skill level is drastically lower, so ABS should be adopted as soon as possible.
50AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:19
Oh, so the pitch clock was only decided as a 'someday' thing? I thought it had already been locked in for next season.
51AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:21
People in Japanese baseball have a terrible knee-jerk reaction against anything that shortens games — pitch clocks, tiebreakers, seven-inning games, etc.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
ABS is a system in which a machine calls balls and strikes on pitches. Independent leagues and MLB’s minor leagues have tested full automated calling, while MLB itself has been trialing a “challenge system” this season, where players can only request a review on close pitches. NPB has also tested the system in select games, but no timeline for full adoption has been announced. The pitch clock is likewise treated as a foregone conclusion for eventual adoption, but the implementation year remains undecided — one thread commenter even said they’d mistakenly thought it was starting next season. The main point of contention was cost: whether implementation would be limited to the 12 teams’ home stadiums, or would also extend to Rakuten’s regional games outside Sendai. Mikitani’s stated rationale — that “MLB’s popularity has recovered” — also drew skepticism, with users citing revenue growth-rate comparisons against other sports leagues; overall, the discussion focused less on the substance of the proposal than on whether its underlying premises actually held up.
※This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Express+) thread “[Rakuten] Owner Mikitani Urges NPB to Fast-Track Pitch Clock and ABS Adoption.”
