Established pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hisashi Iwakuma will lead defending champion Samurai Japan into the World Baseball Classic, but a host of young arms may end up deciding the nation's place in the baseball world.
With 22-year-old Hokkaido Nippon Ham ace Yu Darvish leading the way, Japan manager Tatsunori Hara named five pitchers age 25 or under to the WBC roster.
Joining Darvish are Seibu Lions ace Hideaki Wakui (22) Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles hurler Masahiro Tanaka (20), Yomiuri Giants reliever Tetsuya Yamaguchi (25) and Hanshin Tigers pitcher Minoru Iwata (25).