Japan's softball team understands the importance of being the hammer not the anvil, the molder of change not the ones molded by it.
The women, who went undefeated in the 17th Asian Games softball tournament en route to winning the gold medal, have their eyes set on one goal: softball's return on home soil at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Beijing Olympic champion Yukiko Ueno threw six sharp innings of two-hit ball, Haruna Sakamoto drove in two runs in a nine-hit attack, and Japan thrashed Taiwan 6-0 Thursday to win its fourth consecutive title.