Atsunori Inaba on Monday assumed the responsibility for winning Japan's first Olympic gold medal in baseball after being named manager of the men's national team.

"In 2020, we will have the opportunity to energize the nation through Olympic baseball and I'm grateful for being handed this responsibility and this role," Inaba told a press conference in Tokyo.

"The Olympics are a short competition for a championship. You are playing for pride and can't afford to lose. I have bitter memories of the last Olympic baseball competition in 2008, and I want to use that as motivation and deliver a championship for our fans."

Inaba, the batting coach under former Japan manager Hiroki Kokubo, is -- like Kokubo -- entering this with zero managing experience.

But unlike Kokubo, Inaba has coaching experience with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Nippon Professional Baseball and with the national team. And unlike Kokubo, he comes in with a stronger support network, following the creation of a general manager's post.

Following Japan's semifinal exit from March's World Baseball Classic, seven former managers in the WBC and the Olympics were heard from, and out of that sprang a development department that will be overseen by a general manager, with former Olympic manager Masatake Yamanaka handed that duty.

NPB commissioner Katsuhiko Kumazaki said, "Our sole focus is getting the gold medal in 2020 and that work starts today."

"Manager Inaba has played in the Olympics, in the WBC and has coached for Japan. He has a wealth of experience. Yamanaka, who will head the development department, has a long and impressive resume in amateur baseball."

"The role of the development department will be twofold, to manage player personnel and to scout and analyze information."

Yamanaka, who managed Inaba at Hosei University, said he wants the skipper to be able to focus exclusively on games.

"My goal is to get the best players to deliver the best performance," he said. "As much as possible I want to enable the manager to concentrate on the field."

"I managed in two Olympics. It's the greatest sporting event there is and decisions are made by the International Olympic Committee and the International Baseball Federation, and you have to be prepared for anything and be able to adjust."

Asked if amateurs might be considered for the Olympic team, Yamanaka said, "These are the Olympics, the world's best athletes are there. We will use the best we have, and an amateur, if he is exceptional, will be considered. At the end it will be about who is best."

That means 18-year-old high school slugger Kotaro Kiyomiya will, at some stage, be considered.

"He's an excellent player," Inaba said. "Players like him don't come along that often. He hits the ball really hard like few left-handed hitters do. I don't know if or where he's going to go to university, but certainly we will have our eye on him."