Japanese baseball commissioner Yasuchika Negoro said Friday he sees a need to create rules regarding the ownership of the parent companies that control professional baseball clubs in Japan. "I think it's necessary to establish something similar to the baseball bylaws on this matter," Negoro said of the news that e-commerce company Rakuten Inc. has become the biggest shareholder of Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. Rakuten owns the Rakuten Eagles of the Pacific League, while TBS is the parent company of the Central League's Yokohama BayStars. The baseball bylaws prohibit anyone from simultaneously holding shares or being involved in the management of more than one ballclub in order to secure fairness of games. However, there are no clauses governing the ownership of parent companies in the bylaws. The issue is expected to top the agenda at a Nippon Professional Baseball executive meeting on Oct. 21 and at a meeting of the owners of 12 professional clubs on Nov. 4.
(Kyodo News)
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