The sport of baseball is widely played in Palau, having been introduced by the Japanese during their occupation of the island nation. The highest level of league play in Palau in represented by Palau Major League (PML), which is overseen by the Belau Baseball Federation. The country is represented in international play by the Palau national baseball team. The PML plays its games at the Asahi Field in Koror during a season lasting from January to April. No admission fee is charged for games. As of 2002 there were seven teams in the PML in one division. History 1914–1944: Japanese occupation Baseball was first brought to Palau by the Japanese, who annexed the islands from Germany in 1914 and controlled them until losing the Battle of Peleliu in November 1944. One noted early promoter of baseball on the islands was Motoji Kono, who worked for the Imperial Japanese government on Palau from 1922 to 1929. He is credited with a foundational role in Palauan baseball for his work teaching Palauan men the basic skill sets and rules necessary to play the game, as well as being an energetic promoter of the sport, primarily from 1925 onwards. Most Palauan players in the 1920s were employed with the Japanese administration on the island. In 1927 and 1928, a team of top Palauan players dubbed the All Palau Team played an annual series against a team composed of Japanese administrators. Although the Japanese won the first series, the All Palau team took 1928 match, leading the Japanese to segregate baseball on the island so that Palauans and Japanese players competed amongst themselves but not against each other. 1945–1959: PML's early years American soldiers who occupied Palau at the end of and following World War II further promoted the game on the island. American soldiers provided endurance training and helped develop the islanders' pitching and fielding, particularly working to cultivate their infield skills. The PML was founded in 1947, with the league culminating in the All-Palau Baseball Championship. A team from Peleliu was dominant in the postwar years, winning seven titles between 1947 and 1957. Peleliu suffered a notable defeat in the 1955 All-Palau Baseball Championship to a team of students from Koror Intermediate School. 1960–1969: first international success Peleliu won three championships in the 1960s: in 1960, 1961 and 1969. The team hasn't won a PML championship since 1969. In 1962, the Airai