Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
Major League Baseball announced the 2025 regular season schedule, which includes the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning their season in Tokyo, Japan against the Chicago Cubs.
The Tokyo Series will take place March 18 and 19 at the Tokyo Dome, and it marks the second straight season the Dodgers will begin their year in Asia. This season, the Dodgers took part in the Seoul Series in South Korea against the San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers and Cubs were rumored to open the season in Japan, and both teams feature Japanese-born talent on their roster. The Dodgers currently have Oshu, Japan native Shohei Ohtani and Bizen, Japan native Yoshinobu Yamamoto, while the Cubs have Kitakyushu, Japan native Shota Imanaga and Arakawa, Japan native Seiya Suzuki
Presented by Guggenheim, the Dodgers’ ownership group, the Tokyo Series becomes the latest installment of MLB’s WORLD TOUR. It marks the sixth time in which MLB opens its regular season in Tokyo, and it represents the 25th anniversary of the first-ever regular season games played in Japan in 2000 between the Cubs and the New York Mets.
It will also be the first games in Japan since the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics opened the 2019 season at the Tokyo Dome. In addition to the openers in 2000 and 2019, other season openers in Japan took place in 2004 (New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays); 2008 (Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics); and 2012 (Seattle Mariners vs. Athletics).
For MLB, it’s the second consecutive year in which an international series is featured to begin the season.
For the Dodgers, it marks their fourth international series, joining the 2014 season-opening series in Sydney, Australia against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the 2018 series against the Padres in Monterrey, Mexico, and the aforementioned Seoul Series in 2024.
In addition to Chicago’s 2000 opener in Tokyo, the Cubs also played international games in 2023 during a two-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals in London.
Dodgers domestic Opening Day
The Dodgers return home to begin its domestic slate with their home opener on March 27 as part of a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers. Los Angeles then starts April with three games versus the Atlanta Braves (March 31-April 2) to close out the first homestand.
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