Fans celebrate Hanshin Tigers clinching the Central League title for the first time in 18 years in various places in Osaka on Sept. 14. (Video by Tomoki Miyasaka and Mari Endo)

Photo/Illutration Players toss Akinobu Okada, the Hanshin Tigers manager, in the air after winning the Central League pennant at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on Sept. 14. (Yoshiaki Arai)

Pent-up emotions that were unleashed on Sept. 14 when the Hanshin Tigers captured the Central League pennant for the first time in 18 years could be a home run for the national and local economy. 

Economists predict the ripple effect across the nation of rabid Tigers' fans celebrating could surpass the benefits of Japan winning the World Baseball Classic in March. 

At around 8:50 p.m. on the day, Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, erupted in cheers as the Tigers defeated their arch-rival Yomiuri Giants 4-3 in a tight game. 

Akinobu Okada, 65, the Tigers manager, could finally say the taboo word.

“Let’s allow the ‘you-know-what’ word and share the championship with everyone,” he said. 

He and his team had refrained from saying “yusho” (championship) as not to pressure the players, a practice that spilled over into the media and fans.

After the final out, downtown Osaka buzzed with happiness. 

Joyful fans shouted “We’ve won the championship!” and “Hooray!” from Ebisubashi bridge in Osaka, an area famed for its iconic Glico running man sign.

Revelers began singing the team’s fight song “Rokko Oroshi.”

The bridge was packed with excited fans and spectators who captured the moment on their smartphones.

Osaka prefectural police were on high alert and deployed 1,300 officers to the area.

In the raucous celebration after the Tigers clinched the 2003 pennant, around 5,300 people leapt into the Dotonbori river and one person died.

This time, sheets were set up to block the view of Ebisubashi bridge spanning the river and prevent spectators from diving or lingering in the area. Promenades along the river were also closed off.

Despite the tight security, 10 people went into the river, police said at around 10:30 p.m. on the day. No one was injured and no major problems were reported.

At the stadium, a fan who came to watch the game from Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, with his 6-year-old daughter, said the team helps connect his family.

“Even when we fight, we get along once we talk about the Tigers,” he said. “It’s something we can always enjoy together.”

Fans in Tigers uniforms could be found in an "izakaya" pub in the Kitashinchi entertainment district of Osaka.

The Tigers' shop located near Yokohama Stadium in Kanagawa Prefecture about 400 kilometers from Osaka saw a two-fold rise in sales compared to last year. The shop sells replicas of players' uniforms and towels.

Sales were even 20 to 30 percent higher than 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, a shop official said.

“It reaffirmed for me that there are many fans in the Kanto region, too,” the shop owner said.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS MAY SURPASS WBC TITLE

Katsuhiro Miyamoto, professor emeritus of mathematical economics at Kansai University, who specializes in calculating economic impacts, estimates the Tigers’ victory could generate around 87.2 billion yen ($591 million) in the Kansai region.

This figure includes direct effects such as transportation, food and beverage costs spectators paid at the stadium, at about 5.6 billion yen, and drinking expenses for fans at beer halls and homes, at around 32.5 billion yen, as well as a ripple effect for fans across the country.

The economic impact of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows’ pennant in 2022 was 45.2 billion yen, while that of the Orix Buffaloes’ Pacific League championship in 2021 was 20.9 billion yen.

Japan’s World Baseball Classic title in March this year brought in 65.4 billion yen.

Miyamoto said the impact of the Tigers’ victory this time would be “significant for a pro baseball team's championship.”

He attributed the economic impact to the long 18 years that fans had to wait.

This season, the Tigers saw a 20 percent increase in ballpark attendance as young players re-energized the team under Okada, who returned to manage the Tigers after 14 years.

Miyamoto also pointed to a surge in commodity prices as another factor.

(This article was written by Nanami Watanabe and Tomohiko Kaneko.)

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