"Yakyu" is the Japanese word for
Baseball.
Baseball is very popular in
Japan. They have their own league (Nippon Pro Baseball or Pro Yakyu) with 12 teams. The Central League consists of the Yomiuri Giants, Hanshin Tigers, Chunichi Dragons, Hiroshima Carp, and Yokohama BayStars. The Pacific League consists of the Orix Buffaloes, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Chiba Lotte Marines,Seibu Lions, and the newly added Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.