Last year, the Padres and Dodgers got the MLB regular season started early with two games in South Korea. This year, it’s the Cubs and Dodgers kicking things off the week before league-wide Opening Day.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, with the first pitch of each game scheduled for 6:10 a.m. ET, the 2025 season begins at the Tokyo Dome. This matchup features a boatload of Japanese stars and is sure to deliver an electric atmosphere.

Why is Japan? It’s no secret that MLB wants to have a global reach, which is understandable considering the many countries represented in the league. After playing regular-season MLB series in Puerto Rico, Mexico, England, the Dominican Republic and South Korea, the next and biggest frontier in baseball was Japan.

There’s as much Japanese star power in Major League Baseball today as there has ever been in league history. That’s not to mention that the best player in the sport, Shohei Ohtani, not only hails from Japan but also has become a global superstar. And while Ohtani’s fame has reached international levels, the other Japanese stars who will appear in the series — including Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki — represent some of the best talent to come out of Japan in recent years.

For all intents and purposes, these two matchups are spring training games that happen to count. In some ways, it might seem like much ado about nothing, given that Chicago’s and Los Angeles’ rosters might look significantly different two weeks from now. But the importance of showcasing baseball on an international scale is paramount.

The Dodgers will be showcasing two of their Japanese imports during this series, with Yamamoto starting in Game 1 and Sasaki taking the ball for his MLB debut in Game 2. On the other side, the Cubs will have their two best arms on the bump, with Imanaga going in Game 1 and southpaw Justin Steele getting the start for Game 2.

The biggest star during the Tokyo Series also happens to be the world’s best baseball player. Ohtani had a delayed start to the spring due to his recovery from labrum surgery after he dislocated his shoulder during the World Series. Throughout the winter, he was also continuing his rehab from 2023 elbow surgery.

While he appears to be right back in the swing of things at the plate — he homered in the team’s first exhibition game on Saturday, because of course he did — the Dodgers have slowed down the three-time MVP’s ramp-up as a pitcher. Prior to the labrum surgery, Ohtani was projected to be ready for Opening Day 2025. Over the winter, the thought was that he could return to the mound in May, but now that timeline seems likely to be pushed back.