The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles deactivated catcher Motohiro Shima on Thursday due to a broken bone in his left hand.
Shima was hit with a foul tip on Wednesday in the first inning of the Eagles' 10-2 loss to the Orix Buffaloes and was diagnosed with a fracture of a small bone in the base of his hand and a fissure in the adjacent bone.
No return date has been set for the 31-year-old, who has missed just three of 40 Pacific League games this season and has hit .286 and 11 RBIs. Shima has been routinely selected as captain for Japan's international games since Hiroki Kokubo took over as Japan manager in the summer of 2013.