Baseball had been on the Olympic Program from 1992-2008 but was dropped for the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. Similarly, softball had been an Olympic sport from 1996-2008 and was also then dropped. They had since merged their International Federations into the World Baseball and Softball Confederation in an effort to get the sports back on the Olympics Program, which was successful.
The events were both held at Yokohama Sutajiamu in Yokohama and at Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium in Fukushima, with the women playing on a modified baseball field to avoid the Tokyo Organizing Committee having to build a new facility. The baseball tournament was also modified to only six teams.