We are three weeks from the Feb. 1 opening of the Central and Pacific League ballclubs spring training camps in Shikoku, Okinawa and southern Kyushu—and for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Arizona with the San Diego Padres. Following are some questions to be answered during the 2016 season in Japanese baseball.

Will Alex Ramirez succeed as manager of the Yokohama DeNA Baystars?

"I am excited and can't wait for the season to start," Ramirez said last week. "The team has really been good to me and helped me a lot," he mentioned in a phone call last week.