Professional baseball in Japan first started in the 1920s, but it was not until the

Greater Japan Tokyo Baseball Club (大日本東京野球クラブ Dai-nippon Tōkyō Yakyū Kurabu)
a team of all-stars established in 1934 by media mogul Matsutarō Shōriki, that the
modern professional game found continued success—especially after Shōriki's club
matched up against an American All-Star team that included Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx,
Lou Gehrig, and Charlie Gehringer. While prior Japanese all-star contingents had
disbanded, Shōriki went pro with this group, playing in an independent league.

The first Japanese professional league was formed in 1936, and by 1950 had grown
big enough to divide into two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League,
together known as Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). It is called Puro Yakyū (プロ
野球), meaning professional baseball. The pro baseball season is eight months long,
with games beginning in April. Teams play 144 games (as compared to the 162 games
of the American major league teams), followed by a playoff system, culminating in a
championship held in October, known as the Japan Series.[10]

Corporations with interests outside baseball own most of the teams. Historically,
teams have been identified with their owners, not where the team is based. However,
in recent years, many owners have chosen to include a place name in the names of
their teams; the majority of the 12 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) teams are
currently named with both corporate and geographical place names.