TOKYO Japan is depending on major league stars Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka to help defend its title at the World Baseball Classic, while Olympic champion South Korea is hoping the absence of several top players won't hurt its chances.

The Asian powers are expected to be the two teams that advance from Pool A of the 16-nation tournament, with China and Taiwan providing their opposition.

The Seattle Mariners' Suzuki and Boston Red Sox's Matsuzaka are among five big league players on Japan's team for the WBC which begins March 5 at Tokyo Dome.

"My heart is beating with anticipation," Suzuki said Saturday. "In global baseball who is the best? We'll see in several days. We won this tournament in 2006 and South Korea won the gold medal in Beijing. This shows you the power of baseball in Asia."

The top two teams advance to the second round, which will be played in the United States along with the final on March 23 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Catcher Kenji Johjima, also of the Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays infielder Akinori Iwamura and outfielder Kosuke Fukudome of the Chicago Cubs are the other major leaguers on Japan's team.

"We've done everything we can to build a strong team," said Japan manager Tatsunori Hara. "Our hitters are very good at driving in runs and we have strong pitching."

Hara, who manages the Giants, takes over from 2006 WBC manager Sadaharu Oh, who was unable to return for health reasons.

Japan defeated Australia in two exhibition games leading up to the tournament and Australia manager Jon Deeble said Japan has what it takes to defend the title.

"Japan has a very good chance of repeating," Deeble said. "If you watch them, they never make mistakes, they never beat themselves. They have great pitching, great defense and they hit well."

Matsuzaka, who had yet to sign with the Red Sox at the time, was the MVP of the 2006 tournament after beating Cuba in the final. He'll be the leader of a strong starting rotation that includes 21-game winner Hisashi Iwakuma and young stars Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka.

One question for Japan will be how young pitchers like Darvish and Tanaka handle the pressure on the international stage. Darvish was shaky in the Olympics and has not looked sharp in recent tuneup games.

Reliever Satoshi Komatsu fared poorly Saturday, giving up four runs and four hits in the eighth inning of Japan's exhibition loss to the Seibu Lions at the Tokyo Dome.

South Korea defeated Japan twice in the 2006 tournament but finished in third place.

Lee Seung-yeop was a standout in 2006 and the Beijing Olympics, where South Korea went undefeated to win the gold medal, but has decided to skip this year's tournament to prepare for the upcoming season with Yomiuri Giants in the Japanese league.

Outfielder Choo Shin-soo of the Cleveland Indians is the only major leaguer on South Korea's roster and will be called upon to fill the void in Lee's absence. Choo had 14 homers, 66 RBIs and a .309 batting average last season for the Indians.

Pitcher Chan Ho Park, who threw 10 scoreless innings and recorded three saves for Korea in 2006, is competing for a spot in the Philadelphia Phillies rotation, and will not be back.

But many of the players on Korea's roster were on the team that defeated Cuba in the gold medal game in Beijing.

Taiwan has several major leaguers on its roster, including pitchers Chen Hung-Wen of the Chicago Cubs and Cheng Chi-Hung of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and will be hoping to pull off an upset and advance to the second round.

China, which has five MLB-affiliated players on the roster, pulled off a major upset by defeating Taiwan in the Olympics but will be hard pressed to get a win in Japan.

China's team is managed by former major league manager Terry Collins, who also has managerial experience in Japan with the Orix Buffaloes of the Pacific League.