Spring training camp kicked off quietly for Nippon Professional Baseball on Monday with all 12 teams playing in empty ballparks as the coronavirus continues to impact the world of sport.
Sites for spring training have always attracted out-of-prefecture tourists, but this year baseball fans have been shut out of parks while all players, managers, coaches and staff had to undergo PCR testing before reporting to their respective camps.
Okinawa Prefecture and Miyazaki Prefecture, where NPB spring camps are held, have issued their own emergency declarations.