Edogawa Minami Little League scored eight times in the bottom of the first inning, and cruised past Matsusaka Little League, 11-0, to win the Japanese Region tournament at Edogawa-Ku stadium near Tokyo.

With the win, Edogawa Minami earned its second-ever Japanese championship, and advanced to the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Edogawa Minami, which has reached the Japanese national tournament eight times in the league's history, last won the national championship in 1994, when it finished third in the Far East Region tournament. Japan's champion advanced to region tournaments rather than directly to the Little League World Series prior to the 2007 international tournament.

Pitcher Takume Ozeki threw a two-hitter and hit a home run to lead Edogawa Minami in the championship game. Ozeki struck out nine batters to earn his second victory of the tournament. He paced Edogawa's offense with two hits and four runs batted in.

Right fielder Akihiro Takeuchi drove in a pair of runs, while Ryo Moegi added two hits and an RBI.

Ozeki also homered earlier in the day, when Edogawa Minami overwhelmed Niihama Little League, 30-4, in a semifinal round game. Edogawa scored ten runs over the first three innings before cementing the win with an 18-run onslaught in the fourth. Catcher Yutaka Takeshita and Ryohji Kimura also homered in the win, while starter Ryosuke Moriuchi earned the win.

The region tournament was contested over two consecutive Saturdays, and Edogawa Minami also secured wins in opening and quarterfinal round games the previous weekend. Ozeki and reliever Satoshi Suehiro combined to hold Tohoku champion Sendai Aoba Little League to a single run in a 5-1 opening round win, before Edogawa rallied late to top defending Japanese champion Tokyo Kitasuna Little League, 13-7, in an all-Tokyo quarterfinal round derby.

The lead changed hands several times in the early innings, and a three-run third inning rally gave Tokyo Kitasuna a 5-4 lead through four innings. But Edogawa Minami rallied for six runs in the fifth, and added three more in the sixth to pull away. Shodai Mizuno homered for Edogawa, while three players homered for Tokyo Kitasuna.

Matsusaka reached the championship game by blanking Omiya Little League, 4-0 in the semifinal round. Previously, the team rallied for four runs in the top of the sixth inning to overcome Hiroshima Nishi Little League, 6-5, in the tournament's opening round.

Matsusaka had reached the region tournament by outscoring five opponents by a combined 66-1 margin in the Tokai District tournament.

Edogawa Minami won all three of its pool games at the Little League World Series, and became the eleventh Japanese league in the past twelve years to advance to the international championship game following an 11-4 victory over Pabao Little League (Willemstad, Curacao). Matamoros (Mexico) Little League defeated Edogawa Minami, 5-4, in the international championship game.

Linescores:

Opening Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8		R	H
Edogawa Minami	0	1	0	2	2	0				5	-
Sendai Aoba	0	0	0	1	0	0				1	-
Opening Round
Tokyo Kitasuna	4	1	0	1	0	2				8	-
Iida	0	0	1	0	0	0				1	-
Opening Round
Kumamoto Oozu	0	0	0	0	0	0				0	-
Narita	0	0	1	0	0	x				1	-
Opening Round
Niihama	0	0	0	2	1	2				5	-
Sapporo Toyohira	0	0	0	0	0	1				1	-
Opening Round
Kaizuka	0	0	0	2	5	0				7	-
Toyota	1	0	0	0	0	1				2	-
Opening Round
Takarazuka	0	0	0	1	0	0	0			1	-
Omiya	0	0	0	0	1	0	1			2	-
Opening Round
Matsusaka	0	2	0	0	0	4				6	-
Hiroshima Nishi	0	1	3	0	0	1				5	-
Opening Round
Ninomiya Ohiso	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0		4	-
Kooriyama	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	1		5	-
Quarterfinal Round
Edogawa Minami	1	1	2	0	6	3				13	-
Tokyo Kitasuna	0	2	3	0	1	1				7	-
Quarterfinal Round
Narita	0	3	1	0	0	0				4	-
Niihama	0	6	0	1	0	x				7	-
Quarterfinal Round
Omiya	6	3	1	0	2	0				12	-
Kaizuka	0	0	0	0	0	1				1	-
Quarterfinal Round
Kooriyama	0	1	2	0	0	1				4	-
Matsusaka	1	1	4	3	4	x				13	-
Semifinal Round
Edogawa Minami	4	3	3	18	0	2				30	-
Niihama	1	0	1	0	0	2				4	-
Semifinal Round
Matsusaka	1	0	1	0	0	2				4	-
Omiya	0	0	0	0	0	0				0	-
Championship Game
Matsusaka	0	0	0	0	0	0				0	2
Edogawa Minami	8	0	3	0	0	x				11	8

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