Japan Series

Japan Series
First played	1950
Most recently played	2016
Current champions	Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
Current runners-up	Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Most titles	Yomiuri Giants (22)

The Japan Championship Series (日本選手権シリーズ, Nippon Senshuken Shiriizu^?), or Japan Series (日本シリーズ, Nippon Shiriizu^?) is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball and the top baseball league in Japan. It is a seven-game series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League. The Series is the highest level of play in professional baseball in Japan. It is usually played in October or November. As in all of the best-of-seven series, the first team to win four games is the overall winner and is declared the Japan Series Champion (日本一, Nippon Ichi^?, number one in Japan) each year. The winner of the Japan Series also goes on to be the Japanese representative team in the annual Asia Series.

The home team for games 1, 2 and eventually 6 and 7, alternates between the two leagues with the Pacific League having the advantage on the years ending with an odd number and the Central League on the years ending with an even number. Designated hitters are used if the team from the Pacific League hosts the game. There is a 40-man postseason roster limit, and the rule on drawn games is changed to 15 innings instead of 12. If the series is tied after the seventh game, a Game 8 will be held without any limits in extra innings with the same team hosting Games 6 and 7 hosting this game. Only once a Game 8 has been played in Japan Series history, where the Seibu Lions defeated the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 1986.

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