The Japan Championship Series (日本選手権シリーズ試合 Nihon Senshuken Shiriizu Shiai?), or Japan Series (日本シリーズ Nihon Shiriizu?) is a seven-game championship played by the winners of Japan's two professional baseball leagues (the Central League and Pacific League). The Series is the highest level of play in professional baseball in Japan. It is usually played in October or November. As in all of the best-of-seven series, the first team to win four games is the overall winner and is declared the Japan Series Champion (日本一 Nippon Ichi?, number one in Japan) in each year. The 2011 Series will begin on November 12. The winner of the Japan Series also goes on to be the Japanese representative team in the annual Asia Series.