A banner of the Baseball Experience Session in Đà Nẵng City. The baseball class is held for Japanese community in Đà Nẵng and Vietnamese high school students on March 8-9. Photo courtesy of Shoji Arima

ĐÀ NẴNG — Former professional Japanese baseball players Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Shogo Shibata will be demonstrating at the Baseball Experience Session on March 8 and 9.

The event is a baseball class that will be held for Japanese people living in Đà Nẵng, students at Japanese supplementary schools, Vietnamese junior high school students and children from the Village of Hope, a centre for orphaned, disabled and displaced children.

Event organiser Shoji Arima said the baseball session became a hot topic after it was introduced in 2023.

He said former Fuji TV announcer and ‘Sports’ anchor Daiki Tanaka and talent Miyu Kojima will come to this year's session.

“We hope to make this a safe and fun event where you can learn about the joys of baseball. We also plan to have a demonstration by a former professional player, so please come along as this is your chance to see it up close,” Arima said.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka played for the Chiba Lotte Marines, Minnesota Twins and Hanshin Tigers, while Shogo Shibata, a former Yomiuri Giants player, travelled to Indonesia last year and recently participated in the ‘Asian Koshien Tournament’.

Vietnamese and Japanese kids meet the Japanese baseball players at an event in Đà Nẵng. Photo courtesy of Shoji Arima

The baseball experience session will take place at 3.30pm at Hoà Xuân Athletics Stadium on March 8, the organisers said.

Arima said another session, the Baseball Classroom, will teach lessons on practical baseball techniques to teams from Đà Nẵng and Huế, including the ‘Lemaeus’, ‘Hope Whales’ and ‘CBC’, at 9am on March 9.

Participants in the event will also be able to visit the ‘Village of Hope’ centre for underprivileged children in Đà Nẵng on March 9.

Organisers said guests will take part in the baseball experience with children from the village as part of the session.

Đà Nẵng hosted the National Baseball Clubs Championship in 2024, according to the Việt Nam Baseball and Softball Federation.

In 2012, a group of young students gathered their own training group, ‘Love Baseball’, for fun in Đà Nẵng, helping to blaze the trail for the sport in Việt Nam.