Media Empire and Baseball Control
Tsuneo Watanabe, chairman of the Yomiuri Shimbun Group, wielded unprecedented influence over NPB for decades. As owner of the Yomiuri, Japan's most popular franchise, Watanabe leveraged the team's media dominance to shape league policy. The Yomiuri Group's ownership of the Nippon Television network gave Watanabe control over broadcast rights negotiations, effectively making him the most powerful figure in Japanese baseball. His influence extended far beyond the Yomiuri, as other owners often deferred to his wishes on league-wide decisions.
Commissioner Manipulation
Watanabe's relationship with NPB commissioners was widely criticized as manipulative. Multiple commissioners were seen as unable to act independently of Watanabe's wishes, leading to the perception that the commissioner's office served the Yomiuri Giants' interests rather than the league's. The 2004 merger crisis, when Watanabe pushed for a one-league system that would have benefited the Yomiuri, exposed the power imbalance. The resulting player strike was partly a reaction against Watanabe's outsized influence on league governance.
Free Agency Exploitation
Under Watanabe's leadership, the Yomiuri aggressively pursued free agents from rival teams, using the franchise's financial resources and brand prestige to attract top talent. This strategy, while legal, was criticized for creating competitive imbalance. The Yomiuri signed numerous star players from smaller-market teams, including Koji Uehara, Shinnosuke Abe, and others, often offering contracts that rival teams could not match. This approach contributed to the perception that the Yomiuri operated as a 'superteam' that undermined league parity.
Legacy and Remaining Issues
Facing a storm of public criticism during the 2004 realignment crisis, Watanabe resigned as owner in August of that year, after the revelation of under-the-table payments to amateur pitcher Yasuhiro Ichiba. Even after resigning, however, he retained real influence as chairman and editor-in-chief of the Yomiuri group, and is said to have shaped the appointment of his successor as owner, Takuo Takihana, and later club leadership. After Watanabe left the stage, NPB carried out a string of reforms that had been all but impossible in his era - interleague play, draft reform, and the creation of the Climax Series. That these changes only advanced after his exit speaks to how much sway one man had held over the game. Yet NPB's governance structure can hardly be called fundamentally repaired: the parent company's wishes still steer club management. The history of Watanabe's rule over the baseball world is a lesson in how concentrated power can stunt the development of an entire organization.
Intervention in the Draft System and Competitive Imbalance
Tsuneo Watanabe repeatedly challenged the draft system. Yomiuri aggressively exploited the reverse-nomination system introduced in 1993, using financial power to secure top prospects. While ostensibly respecting players' free will, the system effectively favored wealthy teams through inflated signing bonuses and preferential contract terms. The reverse-nomination system, renamed the free acquisition slot in 2001 and the preferential entry slot in 2005, was abolished in 2007; by then Yomiuri had already acquired multiple promising players through it, widening the talent gap with other teams. Watanabe's stance on the draft system epitomized a management philosophy that prioritized Yomiuri's interests over competitive balance across the league.
Media Exposure Monopoly and Information Control
Watanabe leveraged his media empire to construct a reporting environment favorable to Yomiuri. While Yomiuri Shimbun and Nippon Television provided intensive coverage of Yomiuri games, other teams and the Pacific League received minimal attention, creating an information disparity in baseball reporting. In television broadcasting, Nippon Television's national Yomiuri game broadcasts dominated prime time for decades, while Pacific League games were rarely broadcast nationally during those hours. This broadcasting structure contributed to expanding Yomiuri's fan base while hindering other teams' national visibility. Critical sports newspapers and journalists reportedly faced press access restrictions, highlighting conflicts between press freedom and professional sports interests. The harmful effects of media and professional sports ownership concentrated under the same corporate group were most pronounced in NPB under Watanabe's regime.
Confrontation with the Players' Union and Labor Relations
Watanabe's management of baseball was accompanied by fierce confrontation with the players' union. During the 2004 restructuring crisis, the proposed merger of Kintetsu and Orix triggered a plan to consolidate both leagues into a single league, which Watanabe supported. The players' union vehemently objected, arguing that reducing teams through a single-league system would eliminate employment opportunities for players. Under chairman Atsuya Furuta, the union conducted the first strike in NPB history in September 2004. This labor dispute attracted enormous public attention, and popular opinion supported the players' side. Watanabe was reported to have said words dismissive of players, which decisively turned fan sentiment against him. Ultimately, the two-league system was preserved with the admission of a new franchise, Rakuten, and Watanabe's vision collapsed. These events marked a turning point toward incorporating players' and fans' voices into baseball governance.