APBC 2026 at Tokyo Dome: Korea vs Japan Baseball Rematch Date Set
Why does Korea keep reaching the final of this baseball tournament and never winning it?
The KBO confirmed the schedule on September 4: the 2026 Asia Professional Baseball Championship runs November 12-15 at Tokyo Dome, with Korea drawn into a four-team round robin against Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Australia. Korea has been to this tournament's final twice, in 2017 and again in 2023, and lost to Japan both times. November 15 is the next chance to change that.
The Schedule at Tokyo Dome
This is a U-24 event, so the rosters lean toward players still building a career rather than established national-team veterans. Four countries send 28-player squads: Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Australia. Each team plays the other three once in the group stage, then the top two finishers meet in the November 15 final while third and fourth play for bronze the same day.
Korea's group games, per the confirmed schedule: Australia on November 12 at noon KST, Japan on the 13th at 7 p.m., and Chinese Taipei on the 14th, also at 7 p.m. Finish first or second and Korea plays the 7 p.m. final on the 15th. Finish third or fourth, and it's the 11 a.m. bronze game instead.
Korea's actual roster isn't out yet. The KBO says eligibility and squad details come later, so if you see a name floated in Korean sports media this week, treat it as a guess, not a lock, as of this posting.
A Final Korea Keeps Reaching and Losing to Japan
Two editions of this tournament have been played, in 2017 and 2023, and Korea made the final both times. Japan won both.
The first one wasn't close: 7-0 in 2017. The second one was, and it's the more interesting loss. Back at Tokyo Dome in 2023, Japan tied it late and needed extra innings to finish the job — Makoto Kadowaki's walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th off Korean pitcher Jung Hae-young settled it, 4-3.
A third final against Japan, in a building where Japan has now won twice, isn't a neutral proposition. Betting against Korea breaking through is the safer read here. It's just not a fun one to write.
The Tournament That Already Found Two Current Stars
You don't need a rooting interest in Korea to care about this next part: this specific event has a track record of producing players who mattered well beyond Korea. Lee Jung-hoo played in the first APBC back in 2017, six years before he signed a six-year, $113 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. Kim Do-young came through the 2023 edition; he's now a Kia Tigers third baseman who was voted the KBO's 2024 MVP after finishing two home runs short of a 40-40 season.
Neither one was a headline name yet when he wore Korea's uniform in this tournament. That's the actual pitch here — this is a cheaper way to see who KBO scouts rate before an MLB posting fee makes it official, three years down the line. Two data points don't make a pattern, and plenty of players from both editions never turned into anything outside Korea. Still, the hit rate on the ones who did is hard to ignore.
How to Watch It Outside Korea
Nobody has announced 2026 broadcast rights yet, and "reportedly" is doing real work in that sentence. For the 2023 edition, WBSC streamed every game on its own YouTube channel and its GameTime platform, and Prime Video carried Japan's matches domestically. If that pattern holds, YouTube is the likeliest free option for viewers outside Japan and Korea, geo-blocking permitting.
The kickoff times are rough no matter where you're watching from. Daylight Saving is already over on both sides of the Atlantic by mid-November, so these conversions hold steady all four days:
| Match | KST | US Eastern | UK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 12 vs. Australia | 12:00 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. (Nov 11) | 3:00 a.m. |
| Nov 13 vs. Japan | 7:00 p.m. | 5:00 a.m. | 10:00 a.m. |
| Nov 14 vs. Chinese Taipei | 7:00 p.m. | 5:00 a.m. | 10:00 a.m. |
| Nov 15 final | 7:00 p.m. | 5:00 a.m. | 10:00 a.m. |
UK viewers get the better end of that deal all four days. US Eastern basically means an alarm clock or the replay, unless the Australia opener's 10 p.m. slot on the 11th works for you.
Mark the calendar now, roster or no roster. By the time Korea and Japan play on the 13th, there will be a lot more to say about whether this is finally the year Korea wins the thing, or a third straight final that ends the same way as the first two.
This is a running news series, not a one-off post — new stories go up twice a day, roughly 7am and 7pm Korea time.
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