The 84th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament (sponsored by The Mainichi Newspapers and the Japan High School Baseball Federation) opens at Hanshin Koshien Stadium on the 21st. This year four Tohoku schools are among the 32 entrants, including Hanamaki Higashi (Iwate) and Kosei Gakuin (Aomori). Ishinomaki Technical (Miyagi), heavily damaged in last year's earthquake, enters via the 21st-century slot, and captain Shoto Abe will give the players' oath—plenty of storylines.
At last year's 83rd tournament, Soshigakuen (Okayama) captain Shinsuke Noyama pledged: "We were born 16 years ago, the year of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Now the Great East Japan Earthquake has taken many precious lives. Our hearts are full of grief. (Middle omitted) What we can do now is fight this tournament with all our energy and cheer. Let's do our best, Japan!"—a moment that remains vivid in memory.
As you know, last year the disaster struck on March 11, just 12 days before opening. Amid tsunami and the Fukushima Daiichi accident, organizers faced the harsh choice of holding or canceling. A documentary, "Open or Cancel? The Senbatsu Dilemma," summarizing eight days of struggle by organizers and schools such as Tohoku High (Miyagi), airs on NHK General at 11 a.m. on the 20th.
NHK staff continued reporting and filming inside Palaceside Building, home to The Mainichi Newspapers headquarters. The building serves not only dramas and commercials but documentary programs as well.