[Niyusu]

The average annual salary of Japanese baseball players in the Japan domestic leagues this year decreased 5.3 percent from last year to 35.53 million yen, according to survey results released Monday by the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association.

It is the steepest decline since the survey began in 1980. The salary fall this time is apparently attributed to the switches to the American baseball major leagues by high-profile Japanese players like Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Source: Japanese Pro baseball salaries drop | Japan Times