Japan name their Olympic Baseball squad for Tokyo 2020

Japan's baseball head coach INABA Atsunori has announced a glittering roster ahead of their home Games this July.

Former New York Yankee TANAKA Masahiro, who is currently playing for Tohoku Golden Eagles, has been named in the squad including veteran outfielder YANAGITA Yuki, who is currently playing for Fukuoka Hawks, and other baseball stars including SUGANO Tomoyoki, YAMADA Tetsuto, KIKUCHI Ryosuke, SAKAMOTO Hayato and SUZUKI Seiya.

Meanwhile six players are set to make their Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020: AOYAGI Koyo, IWASAKI Suguru, MORISHITA Masato, KURIBAYASHI Ryoji, TAIRA Kaima and KURIHARA Ryoya.

With the sport making its return to the Olympic stage at Tokyo 2020, Japan's powerful and experienced line-up gives Inaba confidence that he's created a winning formula come Games-time.

"Despite the unforeseen postponement of the Games by one year, my goal is to win the gold medal. That will not change. We have chosen 24 people to make that happen. This is the team that will win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics," he confidently explained.

"I am very honoured to have been chosen to represent Japan," pitcher Tanaka told Samurai Japan. "I am very honoured to be selected as a member of the Japanese National Team and I am happy to be able to fight with the Japanese flag on my back again.

"I was disappointed at the last Olympics in Beijing [where Japan failed to medal], so I will try my best to win the gold medal this time," he added.

Return of baseball to the Olympic programme

Inaba expects the team to give their all for Olympic glory on home soil.

"My aim is to play baseball with speed and power," Japan's head coach explained. "The members [of the squad] embody that. All the teams are aiming for the gold medal, so are our rivals from all teams. Nevertheless, I believe that this team can win the gold medal."

As well as securing top spot on the podium, the 48-year-old wants to achieve a longer-lasting legacy: to inspire a future of generation of baseball stars.

"I will be happy if more people become interested in baseball, or more children start to play baseball after seeing the performance of the Japanese national team," he said.

Japan won bronze at Barcelona 1992 and Athens 2004 and narrowly finished second to Cuba at Atlanta 1996.

Six teams have already qualified for Tokyo 2020 with Republic of Korea, Mexico, Israel and United States set to compete alongside hosts Japan.

There is one final spot up for grabs when the final qualifying round starts on 22 June in Mexico, with Dominican Republic, Venezuela and the Netherlands vying for the final ticket to the Olympic Games this summer.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about baseball

Japan Baseball squad

Pitchers

SUGANO Tomoyuki
AOYAGI Koyo
IWASAKI Suguru
MORISHITA Masato
YAMAMOTO Yoshinobu
TANAKA Masahiro
YAMASAKI Yasuaki
KURIBAYASHI Ryoji
OHNO Yudai
NAKAGAWA Kota
TAIRA Kaima

Catchers

KAI Takuya
UMENO Ryutaro

Infielders

YAMADA Tetsuto
GENDA Sosuke
ASAMURA Hideto
KIKUCHI Ryosuke
SAKAMOTO Hayato
MURAKAMI Munetaka

Outfielders

KONDOH Kensuke
YANAGITA Yuki
KURIHARA Ryoya
YOSHIDA Masataka
SUZUKI Seiya