TOKYO – The Asian League loses its probably most famous team as vice-champion Seibu Prince Rabbits Tokyo ceases operations.

The Rabbits have to fold because the main sponsor, a hotel chain, has terminated their funding. Seibu were one of the powerhouses in the league, and one of the most affluent clubs with a budget of $5m. The team even afforded to hold a preseason camp, with games, in Germany last year.

The club, formerly also known as Kokudo, was the most successful team in Japan with 23 national titles. It also won the 2003-founded Asian league twice.

News about a possible dissolution of the team already hit the headlines in December and the situation never improved. However, it didn’t come to a surprise that potential investors eventually declined to take over the team as the costs were high and the attendance dropped to about 1,000 fans per game.

Consequently, the history of Seibu and Kokudo ended with an oldtimers game at the end of March. All players and staff members were on the release list of the league on April 21 but they were offered a full-time job elsewhere within the group of companies.

However, several players left for former league rivals, six of them were signed by the Nikko Ice Bucks. Go Tanaka will play for the German second-tier team ESV Kaufbeuren.

While the Tokyo team has gone, the Asian League will remain with seven teams after the addition of the Tohoku Free Blades. The team will be based in the Tohoku area in the city of Koriyama but it will play in different venues in the Northeast of Japan’s main island.

The team was already formed in October in order to become the newest league member and its franchise was eventually approved in April. The general manager has announced to strengthen the original team (consisting of 14 try-out players) by signing imports and players from Seibu.

The Asian League consists of four Japanese teams, two from Korea and one from China.

MARTIN MERK