Overview
A called game occurs when the umpire crew determines that conditions such as rain, snow, darkness, or lighting failure prevent continuation. In NPB, a game becomes official once five full innings have been completed. A game halted after the top of the fifth, or during the bottom of the fifth, also counts as official if the home team is ahead, or if the home team has just tied the score in the bottom of the fifth; anything called before that point is declared a no-game. The spread of domed stadiums has reduced rain-called games, though they still occur at outdoor parks. High school baseball does apply mercy-rule called games: the Japan High School Baseball Federation's special rules set a nationwide threshold of a 10-run lead after five innings or a 7-run lead after seven for tournaments that adopt it, though the rule is not applied at the spring Invitational and summer Championship tournaments at Koshien, among others. NPB has no run-differential rule at all, so its games are played out however lopsided the score becomes. The same special rules also decline to use suspended games in high school baseball: a contest that the umpire-in-chief halts because of the weather resumes on a later day from the exact point of the stoppage as a 'continued game' (introduced at the Koshien national tournaments starting with the spring Invitational of 2022). Under the 2026 edition of the rules, the continued game is mandated at the spring Invitational and summer Championship tournaments at Koshien, while prefectural tournaments and the regional qualifiers for the Championship may adopt it if the organizer notifies the participating schools before the tournament. In a called game, the score at the time of stoppage becomes final, sometimes producing unfortunate outcomes for teams mounting a comeback.