Toshihisa Nishi to manage Japan at WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup Qualifier

Samurai Japan named Toshihisa Nishi the U-12 National Team manager.

Nishi, 53, is an experienced coach who was part of the Samurai Japan coaching staff under manager Hiroki Kokubo at the inaugural WBSC Premier12 in 2015 and the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

He also managed the U-12 National Team at the 2017 and 2019 U-12 Baseball World Cups and served under manager Atsunori Inaba at the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup.

Nishi was a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) All-Star second baseman in his playing days. He helped the Yomiuri Giants win the 2000 and 2002 Japan Series.

Shintaro Ejiri, who worked under Nish at the 2019 U-12 Baseball World Cup, will be the pitching coach.

Ejiri, 47, is a former NPB right-hander who pitched for the Nippon Ham Fighters, the Yokohama BayStars and the Fukuoka Hawks.

One of the coaching staff members will be recruited and selected from those who hold the Japan Sports Association certified sports instructor qualification Coach 3 (rubber baseball) or those who hold the instructor qualification and are managers or coaches participating in the national tournament of the 44th All Japan Elementary School Baseball Tournament.

The players will be selected from the approximately 190,000 registered players belonging to the All Japan Rubber Ball Baseball Association, a public interest incorporated foundation aiming to discover as much of the children's potential as possible and select the strongest Samurai Japan national team. The first screening and selection round will be through the Digital Challenge.

Japan will host the 11th BFA U-12 Asia Championship, a qualifier for the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup 2025, from 23 to 26 November in Matsuyama and Imabari.