For the first time in more than a century, women will umpire at Japan’s iconic Koshien high school baseball tournaments this summer, the Japan High School Baseball Federation announced.
Five female umpires are set to take the field at the national championship in August, marking the debut of women officiating on Koshien Stadium’s revered turf at both the spring and summer meets. The change is part of a broader effort to expand participation in the sport and confront a growing referee shortage amid declining player numbers.
“Out!” and “Safe!” echoed across the training ground in Nishinomiya near Osaka earlier this month, where umpires convened for a national course ahead of the summer tournament. Among them was Kana Sato, 39, of the Saitama Prefectural High School Baseball Federation, who said she hopes to bring her own style to the role.
“I want to make each call carefully,” Sato said. “My voice is different from that of a man’s, but I hope people will think that kind of voice works well too.” Sato began umpiring more than a decade ago after supervising a junior high school baseball club at her workplace. Her dedication led to assignments at the Under‑18 Baseball World Cup last year. She is a mother of two and credits community support — including childcare help during games — for allowing her to continue.
For 33‑year‑old Kasumi Iwao of Kanagawa Prefecture, officiating at Koshien carries personal significance. As a student she won the national high school girls’ invitational and remembers feeling that boys alone had the chance to play at Koshien. Now a nurse who umpires in her spare time, she wants younger players to see women can succeed in the sport.
Women have steadily moved into top officiating roles worldwide: the NBA hired its first female referee nearly three decades ago, Japanese judo referee Akiko Amano officiated at three Olympics, six women (including Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita) officiated at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and Major League Baseball added female umpires last year.
Two years ago, about 20 women served on prefectural high school baseball umpire committees across Japan. Taisuke Ozaki, chairman of the federation’s rules committee, said the sport faces a “serious shortage” of umpires alongside falling player numbers and that the federation hopes widening participation will help sustain the game.