<h2>A school that excels in both academics and athletics, with half of the students advancing to national or public universities</h2>
Good news is expected to arrive tomorrow (January 24) on Iki Island, located in the northeastern part of Kyushu, in the Genkai Sea, Nagasaki Prefecture.
<figure id="attachment_409882" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4242px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-409882"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e87d4cfe"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/01/1f8660784dca5a7ae9b67a8717f624fc.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-409882" class="wp-caption-text">Members of Iki High School praying at a shrine after their first practice session of the new year for their team&#8217;s participation in the Senbatsu (Japan&#8217;s national team baseball tournament).</figcaption></figure>
Last autumn, Iki High School&#8217;s baseball team, which finished as runner-up in the Nagasaki Tournament and reached the top eight in the Kyushu Tournament, is highly likely to be selected for the 21st Century Slot at the upcoming Senbatsu held in March by the Japan High School Baseball Federation&#8217;s selection committee. If confirmed, this will be their first appearance at Koshien, both in spring and summer.
All 21 players and four female managers are from Iki Island, coming together from four local middle schools. Despite being from a remote island school, about half of the students advance to national or public universities, and the school is known for its balance of academics and athletics. Some students even come from outside the island. Team captain and ace pitcher, Shugo Urakami, says:
&#8220;We’ve been working with the slogan &#8216;From Iki to Koshien.&#8217; After losing in the prefectural tournament last summer, we’ve set our goal to win every tournament and also made &#8216;Make it to Koshien on our own&#8217; our motto.
So when we were coldly defeated in the quarterfinals of the Kyushu Autumn Tournament by Energetic Sports from Okinawa, I was in shock, and it took about ten minutes for my frustration to really hit me. If we are selected for the 21st Century Slot, I want to clear that frustration from the fall, and this summer, I want to win the Nagasaki Tournament and earn our spot at Koshien on our own.&#8221;
Urakami is from the baseball team at Gono&#8217;ura Middle School, near Gono&#8217;ura Port, where the high-speed ferry from Hakata Port docks. In 2022, when Urakami was in his third year of middle school, Gono&#8217;ura was one of the strongest schools in the prefecture, even winning the Kyushu Tournament. However, Urakami experienced heartbreak in his last summer, as his team was defeated by Katsu-moto Middle School from the same island, which went on to win the prefecture and participated in the National Middle School Baseball Tournament. The catcher at that time was Atsuya Iwamoto, who now receives Urakami&#8217;s pitches at Iki High School.
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Together with his former rivals, he aims for the holy land beyond."></div>
<h2>It takes 1 hour and 40 minutes by ferry to Karatsu Port</h2>
In other words, Iki High School is where the promising third-year middle school students from Nagasaki Prefecture three years ago have gathered. The rivals of three years ago are now comrades aiming for the distant Koshien. Iwamoto says:
&#8220;Even though we went to different elementary and middle schools, we’ve been playing baseball together on the small island of Iki for a long time. I believe our camaraderie and unity are our strengths.&#8221;
The reason Iki was recommended for the 21st Century Slot is because, despite the challenges of being on a remote island, they have continuously built their achievements. The baseball field is shared with the track and field and women&#8217;s softball teams, and during the autumn tournaments, the team often travels back and forth between Iki and mainland Kyushu. During the summer Nagasaki Tournament, they spend long periods away from the island due to back-to-back games.
Even when having practice matches, they must travel from Iki to Karatsu Port in Saga, where schools from Saga Prefecture are their opponents. Typically, the families bear the costs, and despite taking a ferry to Kyushu, there are times when rain cancels the games, and they have no choice but to return to the island disappointed.
<figure id="attachment_409885" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4242px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-409885"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f9fdb5c3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/01/0138c3121629d64adb60ee8087a24d88.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-409885" class="wp-caption-text">Coach Sakamoto interviewed by this magazine.</figcaption></figure>
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However, the players of Iki High School and Coach Toru Sakamoto (40) don&#8217;t seem to view it as a disadvantage. Coach Sakamoto, who is from Hasami High School, a strong public school in Nagasaki Prefecture, shares:
&#8220;I believe the disadvantages of being on a remote island can be turned into advantages. For example, it takes 1 hour and 40 minutes by ferry to get to Karatsu Port, but we can use that time for meetings, studying, or even light stretching. Moreover, Iki Island, where there are no soccer teams in the four middle schools, has a strong baseball culture, and the level of play is definitely not low. While there are financial burdens for each family, the disadvantages of being on an island aren&#8217;t as significant as people from outside might think.&#8221;
With the arrival of 2025, I visited Iki Island to cover the school&#8217;s first practice and their visit to the shrine to pray for victory. It took about 70 minutes by high-speed ferry from Hakata Port. At Gono&#8217;ura Port, a banner reading &#8220;From Iki to Koshien&#8221; was displayed.
The good news awaited by the island&#8217;s roughly 24,000 residents is expected to arrive soon.

 Yuji Yanagawa

 Tomorrow (January 24), good news is about to reach Iki Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, located in the Sea of Genkai, northeast of Kyushu.

Iki High School Advances to First Senbatsu Koshien

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