A fan in the U.S. asked me the other day, "When do the pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Japan?"
In North America, the major league teams begin official workouts for battery players in the middle of February, while infielders and outfielders check in a few days later. The individual teams choose their own starting dates.
By contrast, the 12 Japanese clubs all open their camps on the same day; Feb. 1, and everybody (except for a few veteran foreign players on certain teams) shows up when the January page is ripped from the calendar.