The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Baseball's All-Star game was more popular in Japan than in the United States.

Last week's AL-NL showcase received a 9.8 television rating in Japan, the commissioner's office said Monday.

That means a higher percentage of households watched the game there than in the United States, where the rating was 9.5 on Fox - tied for the lowest in history.

In Japan, the game began at 9:30 a.m. local time, while it was on in prime time in the United States.

The highest Japanese TV rating for baseball's All-Star game was 12.3 for the 2001 game in Seattle, when the Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki played as a rookie. Suzuki and the Yankees' Hideki Matsui started in the outfield for the AL this year.

Major League Baseball is opening an office in Tokyo responsible for creating new business in Asia and overseeing TV, sponsorship and licensing deals.