Baseball is the most popular sport in Japan. Little league is very popular with children in Japan. In addition to regular baseball, a game called "rubberball baseball" is a popular team sport among Japanese children. This game, which uses a hard rubber ball, was invented in Japan early in the 1900s as a way to spread baseball safely among children. It eventually spread to all age groups. There are about 18,600 elementary and middle school rubberball baseball teams registered with the Amateur Rubberball Baseball Association, and they play many games at the local, regional, and national levels.

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