The is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the Japan Series, which is the final round of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) postseason. The award was first presented in 1950.

The series follows a best-of-seven playoff format and occurs after the two-stage Climax Series. It is played by the winners of the Final Stage round of the Central League and the Pacific League.

Kaoru Betto won the inaugural award in 1950 with the Mainichi Orions. Depending upon definitions, the first non-Japanese to win the award was either Andy Miyamoto in 1961 or Joe Stanka in 1964.Miyamoto was a Japanese-America born in Hawaii. Stanka, a native of the Oklahoma, is indisputably non-Japanese. Fifteen Japan Series MVPs were inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame; Osamu Higashio (1982) was the first pitcher to appear solely as a reliever to win the Japan Series MVP, with only Dennis Sarfate (2017) joining him since. Of the first fifteen winners of the award since 2000, only three are still active in professional baseball as a player. Hideki Matsui and Norihiro Nakamura are they only two Japan Series MVPs to play in Major League Baseball (MLB). While Nakamura's MLB career lasted less than one season, Matsui's lasted ten seasons. He became the first (and so far only) player to be named both a Japan Series and a World Series MVP after winning the latter award in 2009. The reigning Japan Series MVP is Hotaka Yamakawa of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Numerous players of the 76 Japan Series MVPs have also won the NPB MVP or the Eiji Sawamura Award in the same season. Five players won the Eiji Sawamura Award and the Japan Series MVP in the same season: Shigeru Sugishita (1954), Takehiko Bessho (1955), Tsuneo Horiuchi (1972), Takashi Nishimoto (1981), Takehiro Ishii (1992); Sugishita, Horiuchi, and Ishii are the only players to have won all three awards in the same season. Twelve players have won the Japan Series MVP in the same season in which they won the NPB MVP: Betto (1950), Bessho (1952), Kazuhisa Inao (1958), Tadashi Sugiura (1959), Shigeo Nagashima (1963), Stanka (1964), Hisashi Yamada (1977), Randy Bass (1985), Tom O'Malley (1995), Furuta (1997), Matsui (2000), Dennis Sarfate (2017).

Six players have won the award multiple times. Nagashima has won the most Japan Series MVP awards with four wins (1963, 1965, 1969–1970). The remaining five players all won the award twice: Bessho (1952, 1955), Horiuchi (1972–1973), Kimiyasu Kudoh (1986–1987), Koji Akiyama (1991–1999), Atsuya Furuta (1997, 2001), and Toshiaki Imae (2005, 2010); Akiyama is the only player to have won the award with different teams. There has been one occasion on which multiple winners were awarded in the same Japan Series: Masayuki Dobashi and Masayuki Tanemo in 1962.

Pitchers have been named Series MVP 21 times, 13 of which appeared in both starting and relief roles in the Series.

Winners +Key Year Links to the article about that corresponding Japan Series Member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Active player Indicates multiple award winners in the same Japan Series Indicates number of times winning Japan Series MVP at that point (if he won multiple times) Year Player Team Position Selected statistics Note1950 Mainichi OrionsOutfielder .500 batting average 12 hits 3 runs batted in1951 Yomiuri GiantsOutfielder .563 batting average 9 hits 4 runs batted in1952 Yomiuri GiantsPitcher 3–0 record in 3 appearances (2 complete game starts) 4 earned runs allowed in 22 innings pitched 10 strikeouts1953 Yomiuri GiantsFirst baseman .556 batting average 15 hits 5 runs batted in1954 Chunichi DragonsPitcher 3–1 record in 5 appearances (4 complete game starts) 6 earned runs allowed in innings pitched 28 strikeouts1955 (2)Yomiuri GiantsPitcher 3–1 record in 5 appearances (3 starts); 2 complete games 4 earned runs allowed in innings pitched 9 strikeouts1956 Nishitetsu LionsShortstop .458 batting average 11 hits 4 runs batted in1957 Nishitetsu LionsOutfielder .389 batting average 7 hits 3 runs batted in1958 Nishitetsu LionsPitcher 4–2 record in 6 appearances (5 starts); 4 complete games 8 earned runs allowed in 47 innings pitched 32 strikeouts1959 Nankai HawksPitcher 4–0 record in 4 appearances (3 starts); 2 complete games 5 earned runs allowed in 32 innings pitched 20 strikeouts1960 Taiyō WhalesSecond baseman .200 batting average 3 hits 2 runs batted in1961 Yomiuri GiantsOutfielder .409 batting average 9 hits 7 runs batted in1962 Toei FlyersPitcher 2–1 record in 6 appearances (2 starts) 4 earned runs allowed in innings pitched 12 strikeouts1962 Toei FlyersCatcher .357 batting average 5 hits 5 runs batted in1963 Yomiuri GiantsThird baseman .360 batting average 3 home runs 7 runs batted in1964 Nankai HawksStarting pitcher 3–1 record in 4 games started; 3 complete games 4 earned runs allowed in innings pitched 21 strikeouts1965 (2)Yomiuri GiantsThird baseman .381 batting average 8 hits 6 runs batted in1966 Yomiuri GiantsOutfielder .565 batting average 13 hits 7 runs batted in1967 Yomiuri GiantsCatcher .273 batting average 6 hits 4 runs batted in1968 Yomiuri GiantsOutfielder .385 batting average 10 hits 8 runs1969 (3)Yomiuri GiantsThird baseman .409 batting average 4 home runs 6 runs batted in1970 (4)Yomiuri GiantsThird baseman .421 batting average 4 home runs 6 runs batted in1971 Yomiuri GiantsOutfielder .368 batting average 7 hits 7 runs1972 Yomiuri GiantsPitcher 2–1 record in 4 appearances (2 starts); 1 complete game 7 earned runs allowed in innings pitched 11 strikeouts1973 (2)Yomiuri GiantsPitcher 2–0 record in 3 appearances (1 complete game start) 2 earned runs allowed in innings pitched 10 strikeouts1974 Lotte OrionsOutfielder .400 batting average 10 hits 7 runs batted in1975 Hankyu BravesPitcher 1–0 record and 2 saves in 6 appearances (1 complete game start) 6 earned runs allowed in innings pitched 21 strikeouts1976 Hankyu BravesOutfielder .407 batting average 11 hits 6 runs batted in1977 Hankyu BravesPitcher 2–0 record and 1 save in 3 appearances (1 complete game start) 3 earned runs allowed in 15 innings pitched 10 strikeouts1978 Yakult SwallowsFirst baseman .310 batting average 4 Home runs 10 runs batted in1979 Hiroshima Toyo CarpShortstop .444 batting average 12 hits 2 runs batted in1980 Hiroshima Toyo CarpOutfielder .400 batting average 3 Home runs 6 runs batted in1981 Yomiuri GiantsStarting pitcher 2–0 record in 2 complete game starts 1 earned run allowed in 18 innings pitched 14 strikeouts1982 Seibu LionsRelief pitcher 2–1 record and 1 save in 4 appearances 0 earned runs allowed in innings pitched 6 strikeouts1983 Seibu LionsOutfielder .429 batting average 12 hits 3 runs batted in1984 Hiroshima Toyo CarpOutfielder .333 batting average 3 Home runs 10 runs batted in1985 Hanshin TigersFirst baseman .368 batting average 3 Home runs 9 runs batted in1986 Seibu LionsPitcher 1–1 record and 2 saves in 4 appearances (1 start) 2 earned runs allowed in 15 innings pitched 17 strikeouts1987 (2)Seibu LionsPitcher 2–0 record and 1 save in 3 appearances (2 complete game starts) 1 earned runs allowed in innings pitched 13 strikeouts1988 Seibu LionsShortstop .389 batting average 3 Home runs 6 runs batted in1989 Yomiuri GiantsFirst baseman .522 batting average 12 hits 5 runs batted in1990 Seibu LionsFirst baseman .375 batting average 6 hits 8 runs batted in1991 Seibu LionsOutfielder .276 batting average 4 Home runs 8 runs batted in1992 Seibu LionsStarting pitcher 2–0 record in 2 complete game starts 1 earned runs allowed in 19 innings pitched 18 strikeouts1993 Yakult SwallowsStarting pitcher 2–0 record in 2 games started 2 earned runs allowed in 15 innings pitched 12 strikeouts1994 Yomiuri GiantsStarting pitcher 2–0 record in 2 complete game starts 1 earned runs allowed in 18 innings pitched 16 strikeouts1995 Yakult SwallowsFirst baseman .529 batting average 9 hits 4 runs batted in1996 Orix BlueWaveInfielder .176 batting average 3 hits 6 runs batted in1997 Yakult SwallowsCatcher .316 batting average 6 hits 3 runs batted in1998 Yokohama BayStarsOutfielder .480 batting average 12 hits 8 runs batted in1999 (2)Fukuoka Daiei HawksOutfielder .300 batting average 6 hits 2 Home runs2000 Yomiuri GiantsOutfielder .381 batting average 3 Home runs 8 runs batted in2001 (2)Yakult SwallowsCatcher .500 batting average 7 hits 3 runs batted in2002 Yomiuri GiantsShortstop .474 batting average 9 hits 5 runs batted in2003 Fukuoka Daiei HawksStarting pitcher 2–0 record in 2 games started 1 earned runs allowed in 15 innings pitched 9 strikeouts2004 Seibu LionsStarting pitcher 2–0 record in 2 games started 0 earned runs allowed in 13 innings pitched 8 strikeouts2005 Chiba Lotte MarinesThird baseman .667 batting average 10 hits 4 runs batted in2006 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham FightersOutfielder .353 batting average 6 hits 7 runs batted in2007 Chunichi DragonsThird baseman .444 batting average 8 hits 4 runs batted in2008 Saitama Seibu LionsPitcher 2–0 record in 2 appearances (1 complete game start) 0 earned runs allowed in innings pitched 16 strikeouts2009 Yomiuri GiantsCatcher .304 batting average 7 hits 5 runs batted in2010 (2)Chiba Lotte MarinesThird baseman.444 batting average 12 hits 6 runs batted in2011 Fukuoka SoftBank HawksFirst baseman2012 Yomiuri GiantsStarting pitcher2013 Tohoku Rakuten Golden EaglesStarting pitcher2014 Fukuoka SoftBank HawksOutfielder2015 Fukuoka SoftBank HawksFirst baseman2016 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham FightersThird baseman2017 Fukuoka SoftBank HawksPitcher1–0 record and 2 saves in 3 appearances 0 earned runs allowed in 5 innings pitched 6 strikeouts2018 Fukuoka SoftBank HawksCatcher2019 Fukuoka SoftBank HawksOutfielder .375 batting average Three home runs 6 runs batted in2020 Fukuoka SoftBank HawksCatcher.500 batting average 7 hits 4 runs batted in2021 Tokyo Yakult SwallowsCatcher2022 Orix BuffaloesOutfielder2023 Hanshin TigersOutfielder2024 Yokohama DeNA BayStarsOutfielder2025 Fukuoka SoftBank HawksFirst baseman.384 batting average 5 hits 7 runs batted in 3 home runs

See also Korean Series Most Valuable Player Award World Series Most Valuable Player Award

References