Six-time defending World Champions Madonna Japan named former pitcher Risa Nakajima as the new national team manager. Her first test will be putting together Japan's best female baseball players to compete at next year's WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup.
Nakajima, born 1986, represented Japan in five consecutive Women's World Cups, 2006-2014, was a coach on the 2016 Japanese National Team and coached for Australia in the 2018 edition.
"I'm honoured and grateful," Nakajima told the local press. "We want to be a team that everyone in Japan can support."
The coaching staff will include Katsuhiko Kido, who helped Japan win the 2018 WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup, and Hiroki Fukudome.
Madonna Japan will open a three-day training camp on 18 December. The final national team roster will come following a camp scheduled for February 2021.
Japan will carry a 30-game Women's Baseball World Cup winning streak into next year's global competition.
