In 2004, the Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave agreed to merge. The players’ union, led by its chairman Furuta Atsuya, opposed the merger. It asked for a one-year freeze and for new teams to be admitted.
On September 18 and 19, 2004, the players went on strike, and no games were played. It was the first strike in the history of Japanese professional baseball. On September 23, the league and the union reached an agreement, and a second strike was avoided. The merger went ahead.