Yomiuri Giants manager Tatsunori Hara on Oct. 28 formally accepted an offer to skipper the national team for next year's World Baseball Classic.

Hara, 50, agreed to assume the post when Japanese baseball commissioner Ryozo Kato visited him at the Giants dorm in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture.

"I will do my level best and become a power in forming a strong team," Hara said after meeting with Kato, a former Japanese ambassador to the United States. Hara said he is proud to represent Japan.

In the morning of Oct. 28, Kato met Yomiuri team owner Takuo Takihana at the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper's Tokyo headquarters and got his approval to help make Hara the skipper for Japan's defense of the WBC title.

Hara was overwhelmingly recommended Oct. 27 for the manager's job at a meeting of the panel created to discuss the formation of Japan's team for the WBC tournament.

The WBC will be held for a second time in March with the final set for March 23 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.