A set of recommendations to lift growth in Japan's economy drafted by Japan PM Shinzo Abe's party "calls for slashing corporate taxes, reforming public pensions, and -- in a curve ball -- increasing the number of professional baseball teams to 16 from 12," according to Junko Fujita of REUTERS. The report said, "Prosperous baseball teams could strengthen attachment to regional cities and help local economies thrive." Baseball "is one of the most popular sports in Japan" and draws more than 20 million fans to games each year, four times more than the top division of Japan's J.League. Okinawa "could get government support to lure a baseball team." Shizuoka, west of Tokyo, and two isolated areas that are losing population as Japan's population ages -- the island of Shikoku and the snow country centered on Niigata -- "were also named as sites for possible new teams." But most professional teams survive in Japan "because losses can be treated as tax-deductible marketing costs for corporate sponsors," such as Orix Corp and Yakult Honsha Co. For that reason, one expert "was skeptical of the economic punch from launching new franchises." Waseda University faculty of sport sciences professor Munehiko Harada said, "Unless there are companies that are willing to sponsor the new teams, this could be difficult" (REUTERS, 5/20).
