LETTER FROM TOKYO

Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani's start to the season has been tarnished by a scandal that has shaken the Archipelago and could potentially impact his status as one a global sports icon. The player is famous for his dual talent as both a pitcher and batter, a rare combination in modern baseball. He achieved his first feats with the Californian Los Angeles Dodgers franchise on Wednesday, March 20, against the San Diego Padres at Seoul's Gocheok Skydome, where the American professional baseball league, known as the MLB, kicked off its season. His partner, former basketball player Mamiko Tanaka, whom he married a few weeks ago, was in the stands.

All would be fine for the Japanese star were it not for the affair involving his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. A compulsive gambler, Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers on the day of the game against the Padres. He was suspected of stealing $4.5 million (€4.2 million) from Ohtani's accounts to pay off large gambling debts. On the day of his dismissal, the IRS announced that it was opening an investigation into the matter. The MLB, for its part, activated its investigation department.

The revelations shocked the player's fans in Japan. "I hope the Mizuhara affair doesn't affect Shohei Ohtani," read a comment on X, the country's most popular social network, on which a fan also lamented: "Even if Shohei Ohtani is totally innocent in this affair, there will certainly be doubts on the part of some people and his image will be tarnished. I'm really sorry about that." There was anger too: "People who really want Shohei Ohtani to be punished and those who show pessimism simply based on media reports are horrible. I want them to blow to bits. I don't care about your ridiculous considerations when the facts aren't clear."

Determining the specifics of this complex situation has proven challenging, especially with the Japanese media covering it so eagerly. Fuji TV went so far as to send a reporter to knock on the door of Mizuhara's father's Californian home.

Born in 1994 in the Iwate Prefecture of northeastern Japan, the 1.93 meters tall and 95 kg Ohtani has conquered his country with his natural charm, discretion and perfect career. This success paved his way to joining one of the most powerful American franchises, which acquired his talents for $700 million this past summer. He also won the 2023 Baseball World Cup with Team Japan.

Ohtani and Mizuhara were close friends, but the interpreter's past appears increasingly dubious. Mizuhara grew up in Los Angeles, where his father worked as a chef. His resumé indicates that he graduated from the University of California in 2007 before being hired by the Boston Red Sox as an interpreter for Japanese pitcher Hideki Okajima. In 2013, he returned to Japan, where he worked for the English-speaking players of the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Hokkaido, in the north of the country. This is where he met Ohtani. When the latter signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017, the team hired him. He was reportedly paid between $300,000 and $500,000 a year. He stayed by Ohtani's side when he transferred to the Dodgers at the end of 2023.

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