Masaki Homers Twice as Kanemaru Leads Japan Past Chinese Taipei 5-0

Tomoya Masaki hit two home runs and Yumeto Kanemaru threw seven scoreless innings as Japan opened the 2026 Asia Professional Baseball Championship with a 5-0 win over Chinese Taipei at Tokyo Dome on Thursday night. Masaki drove in three of Japan’s five runs, while Kanemaru and two relievers combined on a two-hit shutout.

The defending champion produced 11 hits and played error-free defense in front of 26,210 spectators. Japan moved to 1-0 in the four-team round robin; Chinese Taipei fell to 0-1.

Masaki gives Japan an immediate lead

Masaki opened the game with a solo home run to center field off Chinese Taipei starter Lin Tzu-wei. Rui Muneyama followed with a double and scored on Chisho Nishikawa’s single, giving Japan a 2-0 lead before Chinese Taipei came to bat.

Masaki struck again in the third, pulling another solo home run to left. The 27-year-old finished 3-for-4 with a walk and three RBIs, adding a run-scoring single in the seventh that stretched the lead to 4-0.

Muneyama supplied Japan’s final run with a solo homer in the ninth. The shortstop also doubled twice and finished 3-for-5, giving the top two spots in Japan’s lineup six of the team’s 11 hits.

Kanemaru controls Chinese Taipei

Kanemaru never allowed Chinese Taipei to build an inning. The Chunichi Dragons left-hander worked seven innings on 91 pitches, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out five.

Chinese Taipei’s only hits against him were singles by Ma Chieh-sen in the second and Lin Chia-wei in the sixth. Neither runner advanced far enough to threaten the shutout.

Shunya Morita pitched a perfect eighth with one strikeout, and Seiya Yoshida retired the side in order in the ninth. Japan’s three pitchers faced 29 batters, only two above the minimum, and combined for seven strikeouts.

Japan starts its three-peat bid cleanly

Japan won the first two editions of the Asia Professional Baseball Championship and entered the 2026 tournament seeking a third consecutive title. The opening performance delivered power at the top of the order and nine innings of controlled pitching.

Japan next faces Korea at Tokyo Dome on Friday, November 13, at 7 p.m. local time. Chinese Taipei meets Australia at noon after both teams opened the tournament with opposite results: Australia beat Korea 8-7 in Thursday’s first game.

With only three round-robin games before the top two teams advance to the November 15 championship game, the shutout also gives Japan an early run-differential advantage.