Until a couple of years ago, there was a rule that each team in Japan could have no more than three players from outside Japan. But that rule was eliminated in 1996. Some of those who have played professional baseball in Japan in recent years are Cecil Fielder of the New York Yankees, Julio Franco of the Cleveland Indians, and Shane Mack, formerly of the Minnesota Twins. In 1998, 27 new foreign players were signed by Japanese teams, including Joe Crawford, formerly of the New York Mets.

In soccer, there are also many foreign players on Japanese teams. Professional soccer is fairly new in Japan: The J. League was established in 1993. There are now 26 teams in this league; each team is allowed to have up to five non-Japanese players on its roster, and it can have up to three of them play in any single game. Some of the non-Japanese who have played in Japan have been on the national teams of their home countries, like Zico from Brazil, Dragan Stojkovic from Yugoslavia, and Pierre Littbarski from Germany.

For the 1999 season, nearly 70 foreign soccer players have been signed up. Most of them come from countries where soccer is very popular. The largest number come from Brazil, followed by countries including Argentina, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, and South Korea. There are also 13 non-Japanese team managers.

Photo courtesy of Tokyo Metropolitan Government.