Japan suffered a 6-5 loss against Taiwan in an international friendly Wednesday, two days before Samurai Japan takes on a team of major league all-stars.
With both teams struggling to get a hit, Taiwan came alive first by breaking a scoreless tie in the fifth inning. Overall, Taiwan out-hit Japan 11-5 despite a late rally sparked by Tetsuto Yamada.
"We organized the starting members in order to give priority to players who have been away from the game," Japan manager Atsunori Inaba said.