JWBL officially suspended
Japanese Women Baseball League (JWBL) officially announced suspension of the operations on their web page. The league, which started in 2009, will end after 12 years.
The league, which started with two teams, and at its peak it was expanded to four teams, was one of the reasons Japan dominated the international women tournaments in the past decade. However, JWBL was also a reason behind the expansion of grassroot baseball, when it helped to increase the number of high school women’s teams from 5 in 2009 to 43 in 2021.
However, JWBL was struggling with financial issues that worsened in the past two years due to pandemic situation. At the beginning of the year the number of active players decreased rapidly and the league had to be cancelled for the second year in a row. The suspension of the operations thus surprises few.
A number of former JWBL players, however, joined amateur teams supported by NPB teams. Only time will tell whether more Japanese teams will follow the suit and a success of Japanese women’s baseball will continue in a new league.
