Samurai Japan received a rapturous welcome home from around 1,200 fans at Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture on Thursday after capturing the country's third World Baseball Classic title.
Shohei Ohtani struck out his Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout to seal a thrilling 3-2 win against the United States in Tuesday's final in Miami, replicating Japan's success from the 2006 and 2009 tournaments.
Players for Nippon Professional Baseball clubs arrived on a chartered flight, while four MLB players — tournament MVP Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Masataka Yoshida and Lars Nootbaar — rejoined their respective American clubs.