Japan national team manager Hiroki Kokubo had hoped to get active coaches to help him select national team players and got his wish on Thursday, when a pair of active first-team coaches were named to the Samurai Japan staff.
Hiroshi Narahara, currently the Seibu Lions' fielding and base running coach, will join Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters player coach Atsunori Inaba on Kokubo's staff as his head and batting coach, respectively. Inaba has announced he will retire from playing at the end of this season.
Kokubo's team will play six games against a team of visiting major league All-Stars starting on Nov. 12, with the series viewed as part of Japan's build-up to win the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Kokubo has already named six players to his team and the rest of the team is expected to be named later this month.