Iijima Akimi (飯島彰己) is expected to become the next commissioner of professional baseball, and DeNA owner Namba Tomoko (南場智子) said she expects him to be suitable from the perspectives of expanding the business and broadening baseball’s base.
Following a meeting of the owners, it was reported that Iijima Akimi (飯島彰己) had been selected to become the next commissioner of professional baseball. Owner Namba Tomoko (南場智子) praised him as having the ability to address 3 challenges: internationalization, business expansion and broadening the sport’s base.
After graduating from Yokohama National University and joining Mitsui & Co., Iijima Akimi (飯島彰己) worked in the steelmaking and metals division before becoming president in 2009. He has been involved as an adviser since 2021 and served as vice chairman of the Japan Business Federation from 2015 to 2019.
As concern grows about the future of the baseball world, efforts are under way to explore new business opportunities that could narrow the gap with overseas markets in terms of business scale. Namba Tomoko (南場智子) explained that she also considered Iijima Akimi’s (飯島彰己) understanding of and affection for professional baseball to be important.
A previous owners’ meeting also indicated that the use of the Sports Promotion Lottery was being considered as a way to secure funding for baseball development, and Namba Tomoko (南場智子) said she intended to advance the initiative together with the new commissioner.