Continuity in Japanese dugouts took a hit when now-former Yomiuri Giants manager Tatsunori Hara sat down for his retirement news conference on Monday.

Hara had been in charge of the Giants since 2006 and was easily the most experienced manager in Japan. Now that the waves of change have reached Yomiuri's shores, there will be a host of relatively new faces in CL dugouts.

With Hara gone, the Chunichi Dragons' Motonobu Tanishige, who will be entering his third season, and first without simultaneously being an active player, becomes the longest-serving manager in the league next season.