Editing Okinawa Prefecture (section)

=== Baseball ===
In 2019, BASE Okinawa Baseball Club attempted forming the first-ever professional baseball team on Okinawa, the Ryukyu Blue Oceans. The team was expected to be fully organized by January 2020 with a view to joining the [[Nippon Professional Baseball]] league.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2019/07/24/30779/|title=Ryukyu Blue Oceans: Okinawa's first-ever pro baseball team|website=Ryukyu Shimpo – Okinawa, Japanese newspaper, local news|language=en-US|access-date=July 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725075655/http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2019/07/24/30779/|archive-date=July 25, 2019}}</ref>

However, complications arising from the [[COVID-19]] pandemic compounded with allegations of financial mismanagement – including reports of unpaid wages to players – resulted in the project being put on hold in November of 2022. An exodus of players and staff followed, resulting in management company BASE officially filing for bankruptcy on April 6th, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/entry-1690836.html|title=琉球ブルーオーシャンズ自己破産 沖縄初のプロ野球団 コロナで試合できず|date=April 7, 2023|website=琉球新報デジタル}}</ref>

Despite the lack of a local team, various professional baseball teams hold winter training camps in Okinawa as it is the warmest prefecture of Japan, with no snow and higher average temperatures than other prefectures. In 2025, ten teams held such camps across the prefecture, including two teams from the [[KBO League]].<ref>[https://www.okinawatraveler.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/okinawa_guide_250129.pdf 2025 Winter Camp Guide (Japanese)]</ref>
* [[Yomiuri Giants]]
* [[Hanshin Tigers]]
* [[Yokohama DeNA BayStars]]
* [[Hiroshima Toyo Carp]]
* [[Tokyo Yakult Swallows]]
* [[Chunichi Dragons]]
* [[Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters]]
* [[Chiba Lotte Marines]]
* [[Samsung Lions]] (Korea)
* [[Doosan Bears]] (Korea)