Japan FTC Probing NPB over Fuji TV Press Pass

   Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)--The Japan Fair Trade Commission is investigating the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization, or NPB, for confiscating a press pass from Fuji Television Network Inc., on suspicion of violating the antimonopoly law, informed sources said Wednesday.
   The antitrust watchdog is believed to have already started questioning NPB officials.
   According to the sources, Fuji TV broadcasted a digest of the Major League Baseball World Series, in which Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani appeared, while another broadcaster was airing live a game of the Japan Series professional baseball championship, which was held between Oct. 26 and Nov. 3 last year.
   Based on this, the NPB confiscated the press pass of Fuji TV to cover the Japan Series, claiming that the company's actions seriously damaged the trust between the broadcaster and the organization.
   The NPB also did not issue a press pass to Fuji TV to report on the Japan team's warm-up matches on Nov. 9 and 10 for an international tournament.

(2025/04/30-19:50)