Hanshin Tigers' Victory Seen Boosting Economy by 96.9 B. Yen

Osaka, Sept. 15 (Jiji Press)--The Hanshin Tigers' victory in the Japanese professional baseball's Central League is projected to boost the economy by 96.9 billion yen, according to an estimate by Katsuhiro Miyamoto, honorary professor at Kansai University.

Business leaders said that Thursday's league victory of the western Japan team will give the economy a lift in the lead-up to the 2025 World Exposition in the western city of Osaka.

"It will not only make goods sell well but affect society's mood," Shingo Torii, chairman of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told a press conference Friday, expressing hopes for an unquantifiable impact on society. "It will also help build momentum for the Osaka Expo."

According to Miyamoto's calculations, the victory is seen boosting dining expenditures by Tigers fans by 32.5 billion yen, while spending related to people visiting ballparks will give a 5.6-billion-yen bump to the economy.

The economic impact of Tigers' first league victory in 18 years is expected to be bigger than when the team previously won the Central League title in 2005, at 64.3 billion yen, and when the Japanese national team won the World Baseball Classic this spring, at about 65.4 billion yen.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]