Chunichi Dragons right-hander Kenshin Kawakami re-signed Monday for an annual salary of 340 million yen while Chunichi veteran lefty Masahiro Yamamoto agreed to a contract that will pay him 240 million yen, including performance escalators for each player in 2007.
Kawakami helped lead Chunichi to the Central League championship with a league-best 17 wins and also led the league in strikeouts with 194.
Yamamoto, who got a pay increase of 10 million yen, became the oldest player in Japanese baseball to throw a no-hitter at 41 years, 1 month, in a 3-0 victory over the Hanshin Tigers on Sept. 16 and posted 11 wins.