Korea's losing run against Japan in pro-player tournaments continues

South Korea's national baseball team has struggled for years against Japan whenever both countries field professional players. The run of defeats continued through the 2024 Premier12, the world tournament organised by the WBSC, baseball's global governing body.

The losses stood out because the two sides are long-standing rivals and were once closely matched. Korea won major titles in the 2000s, including the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medal, and beat Japan in several memorable games. Since then, Japan has gained the upper hand in events built around professional rosters, helped by a deep pool of pitchers and a strong domestic league, Nippon Professional Baseball.

For Korean fans and the Korea Baseball Organization, the country's professional league, the streak became a symbol of a wider concern: that Korean baseball had fallen behind its neighbour in talent development and international competitiveness. Each new meeting with Japan therefore carries extra weight, and a win is seen as a chance to end the losing run and restore confidence ahead of the next major tournaments.