Rakuten President Hiroshi Mikitani is all smiles ... for now.

It was apropos that the official acceptance of Rakuten Inc. into the close-knit Nippon Professional Baseball family was announced in a hotel reception hall normally used for wedding banquets. This is a till-death-do-us-part union after all-of the shotgun variety.

While Rakuten President Hiroshi Mikitani ran to the altar to shout ``I do,'' NPB owners were ushered down the aisle with cattle prods and grudgingly muttered the same vow only because a 12-gauge in the ear makes for terrific incentive.

But what's done is done, and now we can lean back and watch the sparks fly as Mikitani, the brash 39-year-old owner of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, tries to drag Japan's old boy-dominated baseball network into the 21st century. It should make for good entertainment-even if most of the action takes place behind closed doors. There's always a fly on the wall.

``Rakuten now has the right to a permanent team in the Pacific League,'' proclaimed Yomiuri Giants owner Takuo Takihana, who chaired Tuesday's owners meeting.

So, divorce is not an option, no matter how contentious things may get between the insular, aloof members of the exclusive NPB old boys club and the new-breed Mikitani.

It will all be milk and honey on the surface-both parties will have signed prenups to that effect-but it probably won't be long until the pots, pans and carving knives start flying around the NPB boardroom.

Until this year, the owners called every single shot in the 70-year history of pro ball in Japan. They never asked for advice and rejected any that was offered.

And while the established owners have gone out of their way to make cooing noises to Mikitani, they aren't about to let some young twerp start bossing them around. No matter what they say now.

``I feel a bond with Rakuten because we are both ballclubs in regional cities,'' said Hajime Matsuda, owner of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. ``I welcome the move.''

Don't forget that both Rakuten and Internet competitor Livedoor Co. were initially given the cold shoulder by NPB ownership when each company proposed establishing a new franchise in Sendai.

It wasn't until the players went on strike for the first time ever that owners agreed to even consider the possibility of a new team.

The labor dispute was triggered when it was revealed in June that the Orix BlueWave and Kintetsu Buffaloes of the Pacific League intended to merge for the 2005 season, thus spelling the end of about 100 pro baseball jobs and yanking the rug out from under the fans of one of the clubs.

The players went ballistic-a first. The fans got bent out of shape-rare. And the owners got blasted-by everyone.

Players, fans, businessmen, politicians and the media finally took a stand. Faced with an uprising, the owners had to make a concession-fast.

But the granting of a new franchise is a mere peace offering; it is not a surrender. Rakuten, the players and the fans have won this battle. But the war is just beginning.(IHT/Asahi: November 3,2004)