Contact Information for MLB Japan

I know Jim Allen works for the Daily Yomiuri as a writer and editor, but I don't know anything about him being an "MLB Japan Excecutive." Because the Japanese league is called NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball), I can only assume that such a post has to do with MLB marketing in Japan.

You can contact Allen-san directly. I belive that his e-mail address on his home page is still valid. It was the last time I wrote him. If it isn't, let me know and I'll try to contact him by other means.

As for comments on your theory, I've written extensively on the subject throughout this site over the past several years. Google for some key words with "site:www.japanesebaseball.com" (no quotes) pre/appended to your query. In a nut shell, I think that most of the doom and gloom predictions of Japanese baseball by the North American press is just sensationalist journalism by people who don't know what they're talking about.

Commish,

I apologize for my mistake, you are right, Jim Allen is a fixture in the Yomiuri Shimbun as a sportswriter. I was actually looking for information on Jim Small, who is quoted by Mr. Allen in a September 27, 2003 article and referred to as MLB Japan Managing Director. The article is about MLB's intentions in entering the NPB's market, as a "partner" and not a "rival."

Any information on Small-san? I can't find much reference to him or his office anywhere else.

Not a rush though, I am currently writing the chapter on how the NPB is currently developing toward core status (on par with MLB) from a semi-periphery / independent body in the world-baseball-system. NPB is developing its own periphery in Asia, and there are dubious comparisons beginning to develop to the development of the MLB periphery in Latin America. A stronger state (league) could help propel the NPB to more equal status, what do you think?

Jim Small's E-mail address is: jim.small at mlb dot com. He's got an office in the Imperial Towers in Tokyo at the moment.