A semiprofessional baseball club is preparing for the 2016 season with determination to live up to its name as it continues to inspire people in the Tohoku region ravaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The Fukushima Hopes, which was established two years ago, does not have a specific home and instead regards the whole of Tohoku as its ballpark.
The team joined the Route-Inn BC League, an independent semiprofessional baseball league formerly known as the Baseball Challenge League, last year. Led by former Major League Baseball player Akinori Iwamura, 37, as player-manager, it won the second stage of the 2015 season but lost to the first-stage winner in the championship playoff.