TOKYO, May 12 — Japanese baseball has adopted a rule to punish players for dangerous swings, as an umpire remains unconscious almost a month after being accidentally hit on the head by a bat.

Umpire Takuto Kawakami was behind home plate during a game in Tokyo on April 16 when slugger Jose Osuna swung his bat, which flew out of his hands and struck the left side of Kawakami’s head.

The 30-year-old fell to the ground and was rushed to hospital, where he had emergency surgery and was placed in intensive care.

Latest reports say he has still not regained consciousness and is undergoing treatment.

Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) on Monday approved a rule change to punish players if they swing their bats in a dangerous manner.

Under the new rule, which comes into force today, players will receive a warning if they make a dangerous swing but their bat does not hit anyone.

They will be ejected from the game if they do it twice, or if they make a dangerous swing and their bat hits someone.

A dangerous swing is defined as when a batter releases their bat mid-swing, including when it slips out of their hands.

Venezuelan batter Osuna, who plays for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, apologised after his bat struck Kawakami.

“I’m very sorry about what happened today when my bat hit the main umpire. I hope he’s well, I’m really sorry,” he wrote in a post on X soon after.

Two days after the incident, NPB implemented a rule requiring all umpires to wear helmets.

Kawakami was wearing a face protection mask and baseball cap, not a helmet.

Umpires across Japan wore the number 29 on their helmets last week in solidarity with Kawakami. — AFP