Tokyo, 03 March, /AJMEDIA/
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is planning to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Samurai Japan’s game with South Korea at the World Baseball Classic, which will kick off next week, government sources said Thursday.
Kishida’s appearance at the match with South Korea in Tokyo on March 10 — Japan’s second game of the WBC — would come as the two Asian nations have been trying to improve bilateral relations strained by wartime labor issues.
There was a rumor that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has expressed willingness to maintain talks with Japan since taking office in May 2022, could visit Tokyo to watch the game with Kishida, but Japanese government officials have denied such a plan so far.
Tokyo and Seoul have been accelerating discussions on the issue of compensation for the South Koreans who sued two Japanese companies for alleged forced labor. Japan ruled the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
After throwing the first pitch, Kishida, who played baseball during his high school days, is likely to stay on and the game at Tokyo Dome, the sources said.
Kishida is an avid fan of the Hiroshima Carp, the professional baseball club based in his home constituency. In May, he is scheduled to host a Group of Seven in-person summit in the western Japan city.
