Samurai Japan got its new era started with a dramatic finish.

Shogo Sakakura connected on a game-tying sacrifice fly before Makoto Kadowaki hit a sayonara single as Japan rallied from a run down in the 10th inning to beat South Korea 4-3 in the Asia Professional Baseball Championship final on Sunday night at Tokyo Dome.

"I'm really happy we were able to win in front of so many fans today," Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata said, addressing a crowd of 41,883 at the Big Egg.

Japan began the year by winning the World Baseball Classic in the spring and ended it by winning the U24 APBC.

The most recent title came under new manager Ibata, who was hired to succeed Hideki Kuriyama in October, and with a group of players who might end up playing in even bigger tournaments with the national team in the future.

"I'm really relieved," Ibata said. "The players all did their best and I am grateful to them."

Kadowaki was 0-for-4 entering the 10th inning at Tokyo Dome, where he plays home games as a member of the Yomiuri Giants.

Japan began the frame trailing 3-2 and with ghost runners on first and second as per tournament rules for extra innings. Yuto Koga pinch hit for Shota Morishita and moved the runners ahead with a sacrifice bunt. Shugo Maki, who homered earlier in the game, drew an intentional walk to load the bases, and Sakakura tied the game with a deep fly ball to center.

South Korea manager Ryu Joong-il then issued another free pass, to Chusei Mannami, to load the bases again.

Ibata then gave Kadowaki some words of advice near the on-deck circle before his at-bat.

"I saw Kadowaki doing well in the regular season and in tournament and I thought he had too much pressure on his shoulders," Ibata said. "I didn't want him to be nervous or still. I wanted him to be able to perform with his full potential."

The NPB rookie came through with grounder through the left side as the fans erupted in the stands and the players burst onto the field.

Kadowaki was named MVP.

“I got the hit in the end, I think that’s why I got this award,” Kadowaki said. “I didn’t do so well before that, so I need to learn from that. I'm glad I was able to do my best at the end."

Japan had to come from behind twice in the final after not trailing in its previous three games.

South Korea’s Kim Hye-seong drew a walk to start the third and an error by Maki at first on a sacrifice bunt attempt left the Koreans with runners on first and second.

Japan starter Tatsuya Imai struck out the next batter, but a two-run double to center by Roh Si-hawn gave South Korea a 2-0 lead.

Maki cut the deficit in half with a solo homer to left in the fifth.

“It’s my fault we were behind in the first place,” a relieved and jovial Maki said after the game.

Mannami poked a ball down the right-field line for a double in the sixth and moved ahead a base on Kadowaki's sacrifice bunt. He came home to tie the score when Teruaki Sato flew out to center.

The game remained deadlocked through the ninth, which put the tournament tiebreaker rules into effect.

South Korea began the 10th with runners on first and second, but Kim Do-yeong hit into a double play.

South Korea, however, still advanced a runner to third, which came into play when Yoon Dong-hee hit Kojiro Yoshimura's 1-2 forkball into center to make the score 3-2.

Yoshimura allowed another hit but got through the rest of the frame unscathed to set the stage for the dramatic finish.