TOKYO — With the success of players like Daisuke Matsuzaka and Ichiro Suzuki, the growing exodus of Japan's top stars to the major leagues is not about to stop any time soon.

That's good news for the major leagues but not so welcome in Japan, where the talent drain is starting to take its toll on the pro teams.

Matsuzaka, along with teammate Hideki Okajima, played a big role in helping the Boston Red Sox win the 2007 World Series. That's likely to lead to more major league teams scouring Japan in search of the next Matsuzaka or Ichiro.

Matsuzaka will pitch the opening game of Major League's Baseball's season-opening series between the Red Sox and Oakland Athletics at Tokyo Dome on March 25.

Japanese fans will have mixed emotions about his brief homecoming. While they take great pride in seeing their players excel in the major leagues, they realize the departure of such big stars hurts their favorite teams.

Matsuzaka's former team, the Seibu Lions, finished fifth in the six-team Pacific League standings last season and the prospects aren't much better for 2008.

"This has and will continue to have a negative effect on professional baseball here," said Chiba Lotte Marines manager Bobby Valentine, who is entering his sixth season managing here.

"These are players that have been with same team for their entire careers and have built a large fan following," added Valentine. "Most of these fans stay with the team but some are lost. The good news is it gives younger players a chance to make the team but it is hard to replace quality."

Valentine lost pitchers Masahide Kobayashi (Indians) and Yasuhiko Yabuta (Royals) to the majors in the offseason.

Kosuke Fukudome of the Chicago Cubs and Hiroki Kuroda of the Los Angeles Dodgers are the latest big-name stars to make the switch to the majors, and 2009 could see even more players heading over.

Star pitchers Koji Uehara and Kenshin Kawakami are just two of the high-profile players who will be eligible for free agency after the 2008 season.

Uehara was a member of the Japan team that won the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006, and has already made it clear he wants to play in the majors.

The Red Sox and the New York Yankees have led the way in signing Japanese talent. The Red Sox have two full-time scouts who frequent Japanese ballparks and the Yankees recently opened an office in Tokyo.

Japanese players usually have to wait nine seasons before they can become free agents but some, like Suzuki and Matsuzaka, go to the majors earlier through the posting system which allows major league teams to bid for the negotiating rights to players here.

Red Sox president Larry Lucchino says the nine-year restriction on free agency will prevent major league teams from signing too many Japanese players.

"The system allows players to spend a significant amount of time in Japan, in some cases the best years of their careers," said Lucchino.

Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh said he expects to see more and more Japanese stars heading to the major leagues now that players like Hideo Nomo, Hideki Matsui and Suzuki have been so successful there.

"I think it's only natural for them to go to the majors," Oh said. "They want to test their abilities at the highest level and now that some have gone, more will follow and you can't stop that."

Oh said he would have gone himself when he was a player in the 1960's, but as a member of the Yomiuri Giants — Japan's version of the New York Yankees — it would have been unthinkable.

Nomo was the first Japanese player to have an impact in major league baseball, winning the National League Rookie of the Year award in his first season with the Dodgers in 1995.

Since then a steady flow of Japan's top player have gone over.

For its part, Major League Baseball works hard to maintain positive relations with its counterpart in Japan and doesn't want to appear to be raiding the pro leagues here.

And as Valentine points out, there is no shortage of young talent in Japanese baseball coming up to take the place of established stars who head overseas.

Pitcher Yu Darvish is a big star in Japan. The son of an Iranian father and a Japanese mother, Darvish is a huge hit both on and off the field.

He appears in TV commercials and on magazine covers. The only problem is that major league scouts are already lining up to introduce themselves.

Royals manager Trey Hillman, who coached Darvish when he was the manager of the Nippon Ham Fighters, said the 21-year-old has the potential to be the best pitcher in the world.

Unlike the Red Sox, who have Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima, the A's don't have any Japanese-born players on their team. Pitcher Keiichi Yabu had a brief stint with the team in 2005. Owner Lewis Wolff said the Japan trip could lay the groundwork for future signings.

"I wish we had more Japanese players on our team," said Wolff. "But this is an outstanding opportunity for us. The future of our team is international and we're hoping to strengthen the link between the West Coast and Japan."