The fans of the next World Baseball Classic you will see two versions, depending on whether the games are in the United States, Taiwan, or Japan.
In the United States and Taiwan, fans are allowed to cheer and do not need to wear masks. Taiwan removed most of its mask mandates this week.
For Japan, it’s a bit more complicated as the rules of the COVID pandemic are changing more slowly. Cheering will be allowed, but masks will be worn in Tokyo Dome.
The first three days of play at the WBC are March 8-10 in Taiwan and Japan. Play begins March 11 at both US sites in Miami and Phoenix.
The tournament, with 20 national teams, ends on March 21 in Miami. The Asian powers will be Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia.
Latin America will have the largest contingent with Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panama and Nicaragua. The United States and Canada have also entered strong teams.
After almost three years of strict COVID-19 rules, traditional cheering returned this week during preseason games for Nippon Professional Baseball. That included the constant drumming, trumpeting, and chanting that characterizes the game in Japan.
Japan’s national team training for the WBC will play warm-up matches this weekend and it will also be encouraged to cheer avidly.
However, masks will continue to be worn.
“I look forward to a situation where fans can cheer while wearing masks,” NPB Secretary General Atsushi Ihara recently told Japan’s Kyodo News. He was talking about the upcoming Japanese season.
The Japanese government is expected relax mask wearing guidelines on March 13, leaving many options for the use of masks to the person.
The WBC game in Japan ends on March 16, but the policy change is not expected to affect the tournament with masks still in use.
The shift away from masks has been slow in Japan, where much of the public donned them even before the pandemic. Few Japanese go without masks, even in outdoor areas like parks and wide sidewalks.
The government policy announced on March 13 will continue to recommend the use of masks in crowded indoor settings (the WBC headquarters, Tokyo Dome, is indoors), commuter trains, and hospitals.
Businesses will also be able to ask customers to wear masks.
