in 1994 nomura discovered a loophole in the npb player contract and working agreement between mlb and npb. according to the 1967 working agreement between mlb and npb, npb players could not sign a contract with a mlb team until they reached free agency after 10 years of service or unless their team sold their contract to a mlb team. however, a player who "voluntarily retired" from npb was no longer bound to their npb team outside japan and was free to sign overseas without violating the working agreement.