The 31st Italian Coach Convention, which will be held from January 22 to 24 at the Sheraton Parco de Medici in Rome, is going to have a Japanese touch. Instead of bringing over top coaches from Major League Baseball, the Italian Baseball and Softball Federation (FIBS) has used its contacts to Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) to highlight the speaker lineup. The biggest name is probably Akinori Iwamura. The infielder played in NPB as well as in MLB and won the World Baseball Classics with Japan in 2006 and 2009. He will be accompanied by pitchers Shinji Kurano and Go Ono. Ono even played in the Italian Baseball League in the past. Italy is celebrating 150 years of diplomatic relations with Japan in 2016.