Japan Series 2026 Schedule: SoftBank Leads DeNA 3-0, Game Times in U.S. Time Zones

Game 4 is today, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at 6 p.m. Japan Standard Time (JST), which was 5 a.m. Eastern Time (ET), at Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka, according to Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks lead the Yokohama DeNA BayStars 3-0 in the best-of-seven Japan Series, so one more win would end it. Below: every remaining game in U.S. time zones, including the clock change that moves Game 7.

What is the Japan Series 2026 schedule?

NPB lists the games below on its page for the series, which Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) sponsors. Games 5 to 7 are played only if needed, and the series ends when a team wins four. There are no games on Oct. 26 or Oct. 30. NPB does not list start times for Games 1 to 3 on the page we used.

Game	Date	Place	Start (JST)	Status
1	Sat., Oct. 24	Yokohama Stadium	Not listed by NPB	SoftBank 3, DeNA 1
2	Sun., Oct. 25	Yokohama Stadium	Not listed by NPB	SoftBank 4, DeNA 3
3	Tue., Oct. 27	Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka	Not listed by NPB	SoftBank 2, DeNA 1
4	Wed., Oct. 28	Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka	6 p.m.	In progress at publication
5	Thu., Oct. 29	Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka	6 p.m.	If needed
6	Sat., Oct. 31	Yokohama Stadium	6:30 p.m.	If needed
7	Sun., Nov. 1	Yokohama Stadium	6 p.m.	If needed

What time are the Japan Series games in U.S. time zones?

JST is Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) plus 9 hours (UTC+9). The columns below are our conversion, not an official schedule. Games 4 to 6 fall while U.S. daylight time is still in effect, so the zones are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), Central Daylight Time (CDT), Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) and Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). The United Kingdom has been on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) since Oct. 25.

Game	Japan (JST)	Eastern	Central	Mountain	Pacific	UK (GMT)
4, Wed., Oct. 28	6 p.m.	5 a.m. EDT	4 a.m. CDT	3 a.m. MDT	2 a.m. PDT	9 a.m.
5, Thu., Oct. 29	6 p.m.	5 a.m. EDT	4 a.m. CDT	3 a.m. MDT	2 a.m. PDT	9 a.m.
6, Sat., Oct. 31	6:30 p.m.	5:30 a.m. EDT	4:30 a.m. CDT	3:30 a.m. MDT	2:30 a.m. PDT	9:30 a.m.
7, Sun., Nov. 1	6 p.m.	4 a.m. EST	3 a.m. CST	2 a.m. MST	1 a.m. PST	9 a.m.

Game 7 uses Eastern Standard Time (EST), Central Standard Time (CST), Mountain Standard Time (MST) and Pacific Standard Time (PST). Arizona does not change clocks and is on MST all year, which our conversion puts at 2 a.m. for Games 4 and 5, 2:30 a.m. for Game 6 and 2 a.m. for Game 7.

Why is Game 7 different in U.S. time?

U.S. clocks fall back at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1. Game 7 starts at 6 p.m. JST that day, which is 09:00 UTC. By then Eastern time has already gone back, so the game is at 4 a.m. EST. Pacific time falls back at that same moment, when 2 a.m. PDT becomes 1 a.m. PST, so the game is at 1 a.m. PST. Game 7 is the only game on the schedule shown in standard time.

Our daylight saving time ends Nov. 1, 2026 story covers the change itself.

Who is playing, and where does the series stand?

The Pacific League’s SoftBank Hawks are in their 23rd Japan Series, NPB says. The Central League’s DeNA BayStars are in their fifth. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks said on Oct. 16, 2026, that it had won the Pacific League Climax Series.

NPB’s results show SoftBank winning all three games so far:

• Game 1: SoftBank 3, DeNA 1. Osuna got the win and Iwata took the loss.
• Game 2: SoftBank 4, DeNA 3. Hernandez got the win and Ise took the loss.
• Game 3: SoftBank 2, DeNA 1, on a walk-off home run by Masaki, in NPB’s headline.

In 2025, SoftBank won the Japan Series 4-1 over the Hanshin Tigers, clinching Game 5 on Oct. 30, 2025, 3-2 at Hanshin Koshien Stadium. NPB lists it as SoftBank’s 12th title and the first in five years, so the Hawks are going for back-to-back titles.

Where can you watch the Japan Series?

NPB’s page lists these Japan broadcasts, and says all games stream free live on TVer in Japan:

Game	Japan television	Streaming (Japan)
4	Nippon TV	Hulu Japan, TVer
5	TV Asahi	Abema, TVer
6 and 7	Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS)	U-Next, TVer

NPB has not listed a broadcast for viewers outside Japan on the page we used, so we do not name a channel in the United States. NPB’s English page, npb.jp/eng, is where to look for any update.

Free Japan Series 2026 tracker

Our printable lists Games 4 to 7 with Japan, Eastern and Pacific times and a blank space to write each result. Mark the dates on your October 2026 printable calendar and your November 2026 printable calendar. The other baseball schedule we cover is the World Series 2026 schedule, and the Major League Baseball (MLB) offseason 2026 key dates story follows what comes next in the United States.