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Baseball was in need of revitalization. Japanese stars are giving America's pastime a lifeline.

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The two -game Tokyo Series is the first opener played in Japan since 2019 .

It's part of the MLB World Tour , a slate of games the league has planned to expand its global reach.

The series joins a long line of openers abroad, including in Australia and Mexico .

Last year's opener was played at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul , South Korea .

New fandoms have emerged with the introduction of elite Japanese players into MLB .

Baseball's roots in Japan and other parts of Asia go back roughly 150 years .

Last year , the average length of a game was the lowest since the mid-1980s .

MLB is looking to continue to look toward Japan as an investment.

Nomura hopes MLB doesn't just use Japan or Asia for financial gain.

Still, he said, watching the sport evolve from being seen as an American game to an international one is a good thing.