The 96th Intercity Baseball Tournament (organized by The Mainichi Newspapers and the Japan Amateur Baseball Association)—the pinnacle of corporate amateur baseball in Japan—opens today, the 28th, at Tokyo Dome. Over 12 days through September 8, 32 teams will battle for the championship. The opening game, starting at 6:30 p.m., pits Mitsubishi Heavy Industries East of Yokohama, last year’s first-time champion and a recommended entrant, against NTT West of Osaka, the No. 1 representative from the Kinki region and a participant for the 11th straight year.
In a Mainichi Newspapers survey asking every participating manager to name title favorites (up to two teams, including their own), Toyota Motor of Toyota City—winner of last autumn’s Japan Championships—drew the most votes, with 23. A Toyota title would mark the team’s second “autumn-to-summer double” since 2022–23. Many cited the club’s individual talent and overall strength, far ahead of second-place Saginomiya Seisakusho of Tokyo, which received six votes.