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Virus forces Japan baseball to ban fans from preseason games

Posted at 8:54 PM, Feb 26, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-26 22:56:46-05

Japan's professional baseball league says it will play its 72 remaining preseason games in empty stadiums because of the threat of the spreading coronavirus.

The regular season is to open on March 20. The virus that began in China is disrupting all of the country's sports schedules and has raised concerns about the Tokyo Olympics.

They are to open on July 24. Representatives of the baseball league's 12 teams made the move at a special meeting.

Japan has reported more than 150 cases of coronavirus.