Representatives of Japan's 12 professional baseball clubs on Thursday annulled their decision to allow Nippon Broadcasting System Inc. to become the top shareholder of the Yokohama BayStars.
The latest move followed allegations that the radio station's plan to take over shares from seafood maker Maruha Corp. and boost its stake in the BayStars from 30.4% to 51% by next March 31 may violate Japanese baseball bylaws banning a single entity from owning more than one baseball club.
Yomiuri Giants owner Tsuneo Watanabe has called into question the Nov. 15 approval of the plan by Nippon Broadcasting, the top shareholder of fellow Fujisankei Communications Group company Fuji Television Network Inc.
Watanabe, president of the Yomiuri Shimbun daily, argued that Fuji Television will have to release the 20% stake it holds in the Yakult Swallows if Nippon Broadcasting moves ahead with its ownership plan for the BayStars.
Watanabe has even threatened to take legal action and withdraw from the Professional Baseball Organization of Japan, the governing body of Japanese professional baseball, with his club's followers unless the approval is overturned.
"I welcome the decision to go back to the drawing board," Watanabe said in a statement. "I seriously take the comments made by the baseball commissioner (Hiromori Kawashima) that any similar moves violating the bylaws should not occur in the future."
Kawashima said that the annulment of the previous decision came after close investigations into the ownership of shares involving the Swallows as well as the Fujisankei group companies.
"We concluded that Nippon Broadcasting can control Fuji Television with its current 34.1% stake. The original decision was based on the lack of probes (into cross-ownership of shares among the parties concerned)," Kawashima said.