The Central League said Tuesday the regular season next year will begin one week later than the Pacific League with the same 146-game schedule.
The top three CL teams from 2004 will host the games getting underway from March 31.
The Chunichi Dragons face the Hiroshima Carp at Nagoya Dome, the Yakult Swallows welcome the Hanshin Tigers to Jingu Stadium and the Yomiuri Giants take on the Yokohama BayStars at Tokyo Dome.
Included in the schedule will be 36 interleague matches and 53 games, the same as this past season, which will be played at regional stadiums around Japan.
Yomiuri will face the Orix Buffaloes in an interleague game on June 13 in its first game in Fukushima since 1990 and play against Hiroshima in Kumamoto on Aug. 29.
The Giants will play a game in Akita for the first time in 51 years in a meeting with the Dragons on Sept. 12.
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