Something I found on a blog:
In Japan they report the count as strikes then balls rather than balls then strikes in the U.S. The players bow before and after a game. There's ground maintenance at end of the fifth inning. I think they do that during the seventh inning stretch in the U.S.
The Play
Japan's professional baseball association is called Nippon Professional Baseball. Japan has two leagues, the Central and Pacific Leagues, each consisting of six teams. The Pacific League uses the designated hitter. The pro baseball season is eight months long with games beginning in April, and a Championship held in October, like American baseball. Teams play 144 games, as compared to the 162 games of the American major league teams.
The rules are essentially the same as those of Major League Baseball. In the Nippon League, however, tie games are allowed, and technical elements are slightly different: a smaller baseball, strike zone, and playing field are used. The Japanese baseball is wound more tightly, and is harder, but smaller and lighter, than an American baseball. American fields are standardized, while Japanese fields are smaller and irregularly shaped, with five Nippon League teams having undersized home fields. Almost all Japanese infields are dirt compared to American infields, which are all either well-groomed grass or Astroturf. (Always wondered why the fields the Nishiura team played on had no grass!)
(This part I don't understand.) Pieced from several sources: The strike zone is irregular. The strike zone is narrower "inside" than away from the batter. The strike zone is bigger. (I think it varies by umpire just like in American baseball!)
Pitchers throw more breaking pitches, and batters have a much shorter swing in Japanese baseball. (That probably means they don't go for the long ball and pitchers aren't as strong.) Players are neither as large nor as swift as Americans. (Japanese people are smaller!)
If the score is tied, in Japan, the game doesn't continue until one team wins. They stop the game around 10pm and the game ends in a tie. This shows where Japanese priorities lie not in competition and being the winner, but in the importance in getting home. If the ballgame ends after the trains have shut down, no one would be able to get home. (Ha, this is very important!) Unlike American baseball games, the games consistently begin at 6:00 right after the Japanese work day is over. Also, the people are allowed to bring in their own food and drinks. (Wow, you can save lots of money that way!)
Japanese coaches focus more on the fundamentals of bunting, base running and fielding whereas American baseball has come to rely heavily on pitching talent and long ball hitting. Because of these differences, Japanese baseball games typically have closer and lower final scores than American baseball games. Japan is more into fundamentals, such as making the opposing pitcher work and throw a lot of pitches. The Japanese make every attempt to prevent the opposition from scoring, while the U.S. teams don't. Japan stresses pitching and defense whereas America focuses more on offense.
Players
A controversial rule allows a team to have no more than four foreign players, two position players and two pitchers, limiting the cost and competition for expensive players from other countries. Because of the different customs of players from the U.S., the gaijin are not looked upon favorably by many in Japan. Their flashy manners are a "grievous sin" in deportment conscious Japan.
Japanese players seem to be better sportsmen as far as politeness is concerned. You'll hardly ever see a player act disrespectful to another player and if a poor call has been made, officials and managers will discuss it for lengthy periods of time to find a happy medium that everyone can be satisfied with without causing someone to lose face. On the other hand, Japanese coaches could learn to take a few more chances during the game instead of playing it safe.
Japanese baseball rewards collective effort and conformity over individual flash and achievement. Japanese players are expected to work out rigorously as a group as opposed to the loose stretching and sprinting you'd see before an MLB game. Japanese pitchers are expected to be able to pitch everyday in any role demanded by the team, and strategy so enforced that the best hitters find themselves sacrificing instead of bringing in the runs.
Money Matters
Japanese baseball can be compared to American baseball as it used to be, about 50 years ago. The players have no agents and there are no wild card teams.
The Japanese teams are owned by major companies and are essentially a form of promoting the companies. Teams are identified with their owners, not where the team is based (with the exception of the Yokohama BayStars). For example, the Hanshin Tigers, named after the Detroit tigers, is owned by the Hanshin Electric Railway. To the U.S. owner, the teams are the top priority while Japan 's teams are corporate subsidies, and are not high on the priority list.
The salaries of the players are incredibly different. In the U.S., the contract between the players and owners is the basic agreement that governs baseball. In Japan, the contract between the owners of the central league and the owners of the Pacific league governs baseball. The players in Japan don't demand more money because this would be placing their own wishes above the team interests. Top annual salaries for players in Japan are about $5 million a year.
In addition, the life of the Japanese player is very different from the life of a player in the U.S. The Japanese live in dormitories, have one month off a year, and an extra week if their team wins the championship. They practice for hours each day, have daily meetings and film studies, and they have little bargaining leverage. Some teams can't smoke, drink, or even grow a mustache. But, they can have a job with the organization for life. The players typically comply with the management because after they retire, they can expect to get another position with the organization or an affiliated company. Similar to the fact that the Japanese don't change jobs as often as people in the Untied States, they don't change baseball teams either. The team loyalty that is seen in Japan would never be seen in the U.S.
I am wondering about cheerleaders
Normally baseball doesn't have cheerleaders, at least in America. That would be reserved for football and amateur basketball.
There are other differences than the above mentioned, I am sure. Nippon Professional Baseball (日本野球機構) otherwise known as Puro Yakyū (プロ野球) adopted the designated hitter rule in 1975. One of my favorite old movies is
Mr. Baseball (1992) starring Tom Selleck at the height of his career, good movie and I would recommend it.
