SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Hideki Matsui may be playing his next game in Japan sooner than he thinks.

The biggest Japanese baseball star may open the 2004 season in Japan -- along with the entire New York Yankees.

The Yankees have been asked by the commissioner's office whether they would consider playing their 2004 opener in Japan, a baseball official said Wednesday on the condition he not be identified.

New York is considering the idea, which is still in the preliminary stage, the official said. No opponents have yet been discussed.

The New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs began the 2000 season with a two-game series in the Tokyo Dome, the first major league games played outside North America.

Baseball is starting its season in Japan for the second time this year, with Oakland and Seattle playing a two-game series in Tokyo on March 25-26. The Mariners have been the subject of intense coverage in Japan because of outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, the 2001 AL MVP and Rookie of the Year, and closer Kazuhiro Sasaki, the 2000 AL Rookie of the Year.

Matsui is an even bigger star, a three-time MVP of Japan's Central League for the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants. The power-hitting outfielder became a free agent after last season and agreed last month to a $21 million, three-year contract with the Yankees.

When the deal was finalized Tuesday, dozens of reporters and photographers traveled from Japan to New York for the news conference, which the Yankees called the biggest in their 100-year history.