Little League World Series (Far East Region)  The Far East East Region was one of four international regions that competed in the Little League World Series from 1962 to 2000. Far East qualifiers won a record 23 titles — 17 from Taiwan, four from Japan, and two from the Republic of Korea. Teams from East Asia were first allowed to qualify for the Little League World Series in 1961. A team from Japan lost to Hawaii in the original Pacific Region's qualifying game. The following year the Far East Region was created, with the Japanese champion receiving an automatic berth in the World Series. The first multinational Far East Regional Tournament took place in 1969 and featured six countries. In 2001, the Little League World Series was expanded to sixteen teams. The Far East was split into two regions – the Pacific (consisting of teams from the Pacific Islands, Indonesia, and Oceania) and Asia (consisting of teams from mainland Asia). Originally, Japan was to become its own region. In , the regions were again reconfigured to match the original plan. Japan was given an automatic berth in the Series, while the remaining Asian teams merged with the Pacific teams to create the Asia-Pacific Region. From 1972 to 1974, Taiwan dominated the LLWS, outscoring their opponents 112–2. In , they did not allow a hit. On November 11, 1974, Little League Baseball announced that all non-US teams were banned from competing in the Little League World Series. Initially, travel costs and nationalism were the reasons given. But, many made the connection to the success of the Far East teams. A representative of the Taiwanese Baseball Association also read between the lines, "We are suffering from a strange phenomenon, we are too good." Several months later, Little League Baseball did give a more detailed reason for the ban. "There was too much emphasis on this particular age group, and this happened in Latin America, as well as the Far East and other places in which it became a more Olympic type activity. Despite being banned from the Little League World Series, international leagues still held regional championships. In the 1975 Far East Tournament, Taiwan defeated Japan in a controversial contest. The ban was only limited to the Little League division. International teams could still compete at the Senior and Big League World Series. Taiwan would win both of those tournaments, the Far East hegemony encompassed each level of youth baseball. In December 1975, the international ban was repealed with a 12–1 vote. The decision came with a caveat; the tournament would now be split into two brackets.