Sendai citizens celebrate the inauguration of a new pro baseball team in Miyagi Prefecture.

Rakuten was selected over Internet service provider Livedoor Co. at a Tokyo executive committee meeting of Nippon Professional Baseball and the decision was endorsed by the baseball owners later in the day.

It will be the first new team in Japanese pro baseball, excluding cases of mergers or acquisitions, since the creation of the defunct Takahashi Unions in the Pacific League in 1954.

The new team will be called the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and will be based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture.

Rakuten tapped baseball commentator Yasushi Tao as manager of its team. Tao had stints with the Chunichi Dragons, Seibu Lions and Hanshin Tigers in his playing career.

The Japan Times Weekly: Nov. 6, 2004
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