Shohei Ohtani, also known as “Showtime,” has been featured on media almost every day in Japan and the United States – especially as his Los Angeles Dodgers head to the World Series, the championship of Major League Baseball. Ohtani has been dubbed Japan’s “biggest baseball export” to the United States, where discussion rages over whether he is the best baseball player in history.
On the other hand, Ohtani as a Japanese national, is frequently covered in newspapers, weekly magazines, television shows, and blog posts in Japan. For instance, The Japan Times has featured Ohtani ever since he moved to the Los Angeles Angels in 2018, publishing articles on him several times a week. Ohtani moved to the Dodgers in 2024. Due to the time difference between Japan and the United States, his Dodgers’ games are shown in the morning in Japan, and Ohtani has contributed to a surge in viewership in his home country.
For baseball fans, it is natural for such a successful player to draw such massive attention. To many Japanese, Ohtani is more than a ball player – he is a national hero. Nakano Koichi, a professor who teaches politics and culture in Tokyo at Sophia University, observed that “the idolization of Ohtani in Japan reflects its own inferiority complex vis a vis the fatherland of baseball that is the U.S.”
As an idol of Japanese fans, Ohtani has been overexposed in the Japanese media recently, and the Japanese audience has become accustomed to his record-breaking news on a daily basis, so-called audience fatigue has set in due to overexposure in the media. At the same time, however, Ohtani clearly has tremendous news value for audiences in both Japan and the United States.
Ohtani is a unique “two-way” baseball player who can play and excel as a hitter and a pitcher in the same game. His talent as an extraordinary two-way superstar drew comparisons to Babe Ruth from the start of Ohtani’s career. Although he would not pitch in the 2024 season due to an injured elbow ligament, Ohtani is expected to recover after a major surgery and come back as a two-way superstar in the MLB next year.
Ohtani’s incredible skill is apparent. In November last year, he was the American League Most Valuable Player for the second time in his MLB career. Moreover, Ohtani hit his 50th home run of the season on September 19 this year, making him the first baseball player to reach 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The 50-50 record is already regarded as a legendary feat, meaning Ohtani made history even during a year where he was unable to pitch.
Despite his elbow injury, the Los Angeles Dodgers gave Ohtani a $700 million deal, a record-breaking contract, in December last year. In addition, Ohtani’s income includes a number of deals with his sponsors, such as Japanese watchmaker Seiko, Fanatics, Topps, and New Balance. Miyamoto Katsuhiro, a professor at Kansai University estimated that the economic benefits brought by Ohtani to the Dodgers this year – his impact on “tickets sales, advertising and broadcasting revenue” – to be 116.8 billion yen ($783 million).
Ohtani’s skill and mega-millions have catapulted him to the status of celebrity, even by Los Angeles standards. In May this year, The Los Angeles Times reported that Ohtani had purchased a modern mansion with five bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms, a movie theater, a swimming pool, a sauna, a gym, a basketball court, and a spa, in Los Angeles for $7.85 million. In July however, it was reported that Ohtani decided to sell his new mansion over “privacy concerns” after Japanese networks Fuji TV and Nippon TV revealed his address. Clearly his news value as a celebrity has taken a toll on his privacy.
Ohtani’s private life has continued to attract attention. The MLB superstar’s announcement on February 29 that he was married – Ohtani refused to say when, exactly, the marriage took place – stunned the Japanese audience, the Dodgers, and baseball fans around the world. Unsurprisingly, the Japanese media feverishly covered his marriage and his relationship with his new wife, Mamiko Tanaka, a former basketball player. Since then, the media has paid continuous attention to Tanaka.
Unfortunately, Ohtani’s happy news on his marriage was followed by a major scandal centered on his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. In April, it was reported that Mizuhara had been charged with federal bank fraud. Reportedly, Mizuhara stole approximately $16 million from Ohtani’s bank account in order to cover his gambling debts. The betrayal by his interpreter – who was also Ohtani’s close personal friend – drew even more attention, including from non-baseball fans.
As a Japanese national who is one of the biggest sports stars in the United States, Ohtani has played a role as a global baseball ambassador. With regard to the 50-50 accomplishment, U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel tweeted that “Japan’s record-making machine has done it again! Congratulations to Shohei Ohtani on an incredible baseball achievement. A true global ambassador of the game.”
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel greets Angels baseball star Shohei Ohtani at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on March 3, 2023. Photo by U.S. Embassy Japan.
Ohtani also uses his celebrity and wealth to benefit his homeland. For instance, it was reported in November last year that Ohtani had donated as many as 60,000 youth gloves to 20,000 elementary schools in Japan. In January this year, Ohtani and the Dodgers decided to donate $1 million to victims of a series of earthquakes that occurred on the western coast of Japan.
Likewise, Ohtani contributes to bridging the Japan-South Korea divide through baseball diplomacy. A Korean journalist, Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News Agency, called Ohtani “the most beloved Japanese athlete in Korea.” Given the historical legacy between the two nations, it is extraordinary for a Japanese athlete to become so popular in South Korea.
Thus, it is no exaggeration to say that Ohtani has made a personal contribution to fortifying Japan-U.S. relations through “baseball diplomacy” – just like Babe Ruth, who once donned a kimono during a tour of Japan. Baseball was first introduced to Japan by Horace Wilson, an American English teacher in Tokyo in 1872. Since then, the 150-year history of Japan-U.S. baseball diplomacy has included big names like Hideo Nomo, Hideki Matsui, and Ichiro Suzuki. Ohtani has surpassed them all. As the World Series begins, Ohtani as a baseball ambassador will continue to create more news values and contribute to strengthening the cultural ties between Japan, the United States, and the world.