The crack of the bat. The thudding sound of a baseball hitting a mitt. The roar of the crowd. A scene out of an American baseball stadium on any given night? Perhaps. Long considered to be America's favorite pastime, baseball has taken firm root in Japanese soil, yielding a handful of homegrown teams and rabid fans that cheer on their favorite players.

Baseball In Japan, a production of WBGU-PBS, examines how the sport has become popular in the land of the rising sun. It explores the similarities and differences it has with American baseball and its place in Japanese culture and society. In Japan, baseball is called yakyu. While it is similar to American baseball in the basic rudiments of the game, there are some notable differences between the two games: baseball relies on power and physical skills, yakyu relies on finesse, speed, and mental acuity; risk-taking is common in baseball, playing it safe is favored in yakyu; American baseball stadiums tend to be standardized, where yakyu parks are smaller and somewhat irregular in shape.

Baseball In Japan also shows how customs of Japanese society are reflected in the game. Where fierce, brief shouting matches over controversial calls between players, managers and umpires may be the norm in America, controversial calls in yakyu are sometimes discussed for up to an hour. During this time, the game is stopped, while all involved seek a face-saving solution to the problem. Also, it is customary for games to end between 10:15 and 10:30, no matter the inning or the score, so Japanese fans can use public transportation to return to their homes.

The behavior of Japanese fans also reflects their societal customs. Where peanuts, cracker jacks and Coca-Cola may be mainstays of American parks, Japanese fans prefer sakem okonomiyaki (a kind of pizza) and yakitori (skewered pieces of chicken). And like their approach to anything they do, Japanese fans are intense--among the most vocal and enthusiastic in the world, according to sports experts.

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