Japan Beats Korea 5-1 to Win Third Straight APBC Title

Japan beat South Korea 5-1 at Tokyo Dome on Sunday, November 15, to win the 2026 Asia Professional Baseball Championship and complete an unbeaten tournament. Misho Nishikawa and Tomoya Masaki supplied the home runs, while Hiroto Takahashi set the tone on the mound as Japan captured its third title in three editions of the APBC.

Japan finished the four-nation event 4-0, following round-robin wins over Chinese Taipei, Korea and Australia. Korea settled for runner-up honors for the third time after also losing the 2017 and 2023 finals to Japan.

• Final score: Japan 5, South Korea 1
• Venue: Tokyo Dome
• Winning pitcher: Hiroto Takahashi
• Home runs: Misho Nishikawa and Tomoya Masaki, Japan
• Japan’s APBC titles: 2017, 2023 and 2026

Nishikawa gives Japan an immediate lead

Nishikawa put Japan ahead in the bottom of the first inning, driving a solo home run off Korean starter Kim Keon-woo. The early swing forced Korea to chase the game against Takahashi, who repeatedly won at the top of the strike zone and kept the Korean lineup from building an inning.

Japan doubled the advantage in the third. Yudai Shoji reached scoring position before Rui Muneyama drove an RBI double into the outfield, making it 2-0.

Takahashi struck out six and allowed only two hits through the first five innings. Korea had runners but could not turn them into sustained pressure against the Chunichi Dragons right-hander.

Masaki’s three-run homer breaks open the final

The decisive sequence came in the fifth. Taiga Kojima singled, and Shoji reached when Kim made an errant throw on a bunt. Masaki then drove a full-count pitch over the left-field wall for a three-run homer, stretching Japan’s lead to 5-0 and ending Kim’s night.

Korea finally scored in the seventh. Ahn Hyun-min doubled down the left-field line, moved to third and came home on pinch hitter An Jae-seok’s RBI single. The rally stopped there, and relievers Yutaro Ishida and Hibiki Shinohara carried Japan through the final two innings.

South Korea finished with five hits and committed two errors. Japan collected 10 hits and played error-free defense before closing out the title in front of 36,022 spectators.

Japan completes another perfect APBC run

The APBC is built around emerging professional players: participants are generally 24 or younger or within their first three professional seasons, with each roster allowed up to three older players aged 24 to 29.

Japan again turned that format into a showcase of its pitching depth and young power. The champions outscored their four opponents 35-7, and the final reinforced the pattern that defined their week—an early lead, a deep lineup and no opening for an opponent to take control.

For Korea, reaching the final required a Team Quality Balance tiebreaker after Korea, Australia and Chinese Taipei all finished the preliminary round 1-2. Japan left no tiebreaker necessary at the top, winning every game and keeping the APBC trophy for a third consecutive edition.