The Asia–Pacific and Middle East Region is a region that competes in the

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children (primarily boys) aged 10 to 12 years old, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for th ...

. Asian teams first competed in the LLWS in , when Japanese teams competed in the original

Pacific Region The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

(which included Hawaii). In , Japanese teams began competing in the newly created Far East Region. In , the Little League World Series was expanded to sixteen teams, and East Asia was split into two regions – the Pacific (consisting of teams from the

Pacific Islands The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, and

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

) and Asia (consisting of teams from mainland

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

). In , the regions were reconfigured.

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

was given its own automatic berth in the Series, while the remaining Asian teams merged with the Pacific teams to create the Asia-Pacific Region. In , the region was reorganized as the Asia-Pacific and Middle East Region.

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, now the fourth-largest country and the largest outside North America in Little League participation, received its own LLWS region. All Middle Eastern countries with Little League programs, except for

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, were placed in the former Asia-Pacific Region. Previously, the Middle East had formed a region with Africa, but that region was disbanded, with African teams joining the Europe and Africa Region (formerly Europe Region, which also includes Israel and Turkey).

Asia–Pacific and Middle East Region Countries

* * In 1949, the Republic of China government led by the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

(KMT) lost the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

to the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP), retreated to Taiwan, and set up a provisional capital in Taipei, which serves as the seat of government to this day. The CCP established the People's Republic. As such, the

political status In sociology and international law three categories of political status are usually recognized:The Concise Encyclopedia of Sociology', 122 (Wiley, 2010, George Ritzer and J. Michael Ryan eds.). #Independent nations e.g.: France, Canada #Autonomous ...

of the ROC and the legal status of Taiwan (alongside the

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

currently under ROC jurisdiction) are in dispute. In 1971, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

gave its China seat to the PRC instead of the ROC: most states recognize the PRC to be the sole legitimate representative of all China, and the UN classifies Taiwan as " Taiwan, Province of China". The ROC has ''de facto'' relations with most sovereign states. A significant political movement within Taiwan advocates

Taiwan independence Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of Chi ...

. Due to PRC pressure, the ROC participates in the LLWS events under the name "Chinese Taipei" instead of its official name "Republic of China" or as "Taiwan". * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Asia Region (2001–2006)

In 2001, the Far East Region split into the Asia and Pacific regions. The Asia Region comprised Little Leagues from mainland

Asia Regional Championship

The list below lists each country's participant in the Asia Region Tournament between 2001 and 2006. Each year's winner is indicated in green. Two teams from the Asia Region won the Little League World Series —

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

in and .

LLWS results

Pacific Region (2001–2006)

In 2001, the Far East Region split into the Asia and Pacific regions. The list below lists each country's participant in the Pacific Region Tournament between 2001 and 2006. Each year's winner is indicated in green. No team from the Pacific Region won the Little League World Series.

Pacific Regional Championship

LLWS results

Asia-Pacific Region (2007–2012)

In 2007, the Asia and Pacific regions were reconfigured again.

was given its own place in the LLWS and the remaining Asian and Pacific teams were merged into one region. No Asia-Pacific team has won the LLWS, although Kuei-Shan Little League of

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

finished runner-up in .

Asia-Pacific Regional Championship

The list below lists each country's participant in the Asia-Pacific Little League Region Tournament between 2007 and 2012. That year's winner is indicated in green.

LLWS results

Asia-Pacific and Middle East Region (2013–)

As noted above, this region was reconfigured in 2013, with the spin-off of Australia into its own LLWS region and the addition of Middle Eastern countries. One Asia-Pacific and Middle East team has won the Little League World Series —

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. The list below lists each country's participant in the Asia-Pacific Little League Region Tournament from 2013 to present. That year's winner is indicated in green. There was no Asia-Pacific and Middle East Region Tournament for 2020 and 2021 as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

LLWS results

LLWS results by country

The following table lists each Asia-Pacific country's record in the Little League World Series. ''Italics'' indicates team is no longer in the region. Table includes results for teams that qualified for either the East Asian, Pacific, Asia, or Asia-Pacific regional LLWS berth through the

2019 Little League World Series The 2019 Little League World Series was held from August 15 to August 25 at the Little League Baseball, Little League headquarters complex in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Eight teams from the United States and eight teams from around the wor ...

Notes

References

External links

Little League Online
{{LLWS Asia-Pacific and Middle East Baseball leagues in Asia

Asia–Pacific and Middle East Region Countries

Asia Region (2001–2006)

Asia Regional Championship

LLWS results

Pacific Region (2001–2006)

Pacific Regional Championship

LLWS results

Asia-Pacific Region (2007–2012)

Asia-Pacific Regional Championship

LLWS results

Asia-Pacific and Middle East Region (2013–)

LLWS results

LLWS results by country

See also

Notes

References

External links