Hiroshima Carp Recruit Former Yakult GM Junji Ogawa in Unusual Move to Rebuild Team

The Hiroshima Carp have brought in former Tokyo Yakult Swallows general manager Junji Ogawa, 69, to strengthen their baseball operations department, an unusual move for the club as it seeks to rebuild. The appointment became known on October 8.

Ogawa, who currently manages the Gold's Gym women's hardball baseball team, played professionally for both Yakult and the Nippon Ham Fighters. After retiring, he held several key positions with Yakult, including scout, farm team manager and first-team bench coach. He also served as the Swallows' manager on two occasions and later helped oversee the club's back-to-back Central League championships in 2021 and 2022 as general manager.

Hiroshima began pursuing Ogawa around the summer, placing a high value on his experience both on the field and in front-office operations. A club executive explained the thinking behind the appointment:

“We expect him to use his extensive network to gather information and help facilitate negotiations.”

The Carp have made few major changes to their roster in recent years. Their last player-for-player trade was in July 2019, when Shusuke Shimomizu and Ryoji Miyoshi were traded to Rakuten. Their most notable midseason addition since then was outfielder Seiya Suzuki? No—rather, the club signed Seiya? The major acquisition was Seiya?

More recently, Hiroshima brought in Seiya?

The club's last significant midseason addition came in 2022, when outfielder Seiya?

Correction: Hiroshima signed outfielder Seiya?

The Carp finished the 2026 season outside the top three for the third consecutive year. The team was also shaken by a series of controversies surrounding allegations involving so-called “zombie cigarettes” before the season began. On October 1, the club released four players, including Kaito Kozono and Masaya Yano, who had been caught up in the controversy.

Hiroshima must now negotiate with pitcher Takuya Tokoda, pitcher Daichi Morishita and catcher Shogo Sakakura, all of whom have met the requirements to qualify for domestic free agency. The outcomes of those negotiations could significantly affect the team's strength next season.

Ogawa is expected to begin work in January while continuing to operate from the Kanto region. Seven of the other 11 NPB teams are based in the Kanto region or farther north, making the area a strategic base for expanding his network and gathering information about rival clubs. Hiroshima hopes to use his experience and connections to identify opportunities to strengthen the roster.

After the Carp's final home game of the season, manager Takahiro Arai declared in a speech:

“This team will be reborn.”

With Ogawa joining the organization, Hiroshima is preparing to take its next steps toward rebuilding its baseball operations and putting a more competitive team on the field.

Junji Ogawa: Career Profile

Junji Ogawa was born on August 30, 1957, in Chiba Prefecture. As a third-year student at Narashino High School, he appeared at the Japanese high school baseball championship tournaments in both spring and summer, winning the summer title.

After attending Chuo University and playing for Kawai Musical Instruments, Ogawa joined Yakult as a fourth-round pick in the 1981 NPB draft. He moved to the Nippon Ham Fighters in 1992 and retired that year.

Across 940 career games, he recorded a .236 batting average, 66 home runs and 195 RBIs.

Ogawa later returned to Yakult's organization. After serving as interim manager midway through the 2010 season, he managed the Swallows from 2011 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2019. His managerial record was 448 wins, 472 losses and 40 ties, for a winning percentage of .487.