Nippon Professional Baseball Declines Comment On Proposed Sports Lottery

Nippon Professional Baseball Commissioner Katsuhiko Kumazaki "declined comments regarding a recent proposal by lawmakers to make professional baseball the centerpiece of a new lottery," according to KYODO. Kumazaki: "I am aware of media reports but I have received no concrete or formal contact, and at this time, I am not in a situation that I can comment." A bipartisan caucus of Diet members supporting sports "decided earlier this week to consider pro baseball for a lottery with the presumed purpose of earmarking funds for construction costs of the new National Stadium and other projects." A backlash, however, "is expected given baseball’s resistance to a lottery system not to mention the mea culpa that resulted from the 'Black Mist Scandal,' in which several star players received suspensions, salary cuts or lifetime bans for game fixing" between '69-71 (KYODO, 4/16).