The Central League and the Pacific League agreed Wednesday to have 24 interleague games for each club -- a reduction from the current 36 games -- and postseason playoffs for both leagues from next year.
The agreement came at a subcommittee meeting attended by Japanese baseball commissioner Yasuchika Negoro, league chairmen and club representatives.
If the plans are approved at an executive committee meeting Sept. 4, the CL will start the three-team postseason playoffs the PL introduced in 2004 after 144 regular-season games.
On interleague games, the CL had insisted on halving the number to 18, while the less popular Pacific League said the number should be reduced to a minimum of 30, largely because of the increased revenue the PL would receive from those games.
(Kyodo News)