Samurai Japan manager Atsunori Inaba, during a lecture in Hokkaido last month, noted there was no parade after the national team's win in the Premier12 in November.

The Premier12, after all, was a tournament featuring the top 12 teams in the world, though without their MLB talent. Not only did Japan win, it represented the senior team's first world title since the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Inaba's observation also came after Japan's rugby team, the Brave Blossoms, were lavished with praise by throngs of fans, many of them new to the sport, in the streets of Tokyo following the Rugby World Cup.