THE STORY SO FAR: On Wednesday, the two teams faced off and it was not close. Seoul won 10-0 in four innings. Little League games run six innings, but this one was called early under the mercy rule.

Kim Yeong-Hyeon was on the mound for Seoul, earning a one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts on only 49 pitches.

Japan fell to the lower side of the double-elimination bracket, where it edged Puerto Rico 1-0 on Thursday.

WHO TO WATCH: Choi Ji-Hyung is hitting .667 in the tournament for South Korea, the Asia-Pacific region champs, and has one of the hottest bats in South Williamsport. In nine official at-bats, Choi has six hits _ two of which left the park _ for five RBIs and six runs. Against Japan on Wednesday, he went 3-for-3 with two singles and a home run.

And that's with new bat that packs a lot less power than the older models.

Kawaguchi, meanwhile, scored 45 runs combined at Japan's national tournament but has just 16 runs in the same number of games _ four _ in South Williamsport. It needs to start heating up at the plate.

DID YOU KNOW: The Japanese team has been dominant lately, winning five of the last eight Little League World Series titles. A team from Kawaguchi hasn't represented Japan since 2006, however, when it defeated Mexico for a championship berth, only to fall to the team from Georgia. (AP)