TOKYO (AP) — Shin Uebori coaches the Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team in Tokyo, and he is very aware how Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani inspires his players.
“With Ohtani, the kids think everything is possible,” Uebori said, wrapping up practice on Sunday on an all-dirt field set alongside a local Buddhist temple, below an elevated highway, and in the shadow of tall apartment blocks in central Tokyo.
“Nothing is impossible with him. A dream is not a dream," Uebori said, stepping out of the fenced practice field that keeps balls from landing on the temple grounds. None of the young players hitting sponge-soft baseball has reached the highway, yet.
Ohtani-mania ebbs and flows in Japan, though blue Dodgers caps have replaced Yankees caps as the country's go-to sports fashion item.
Japan has other big names on the world sports stage — golfer Hideki Matsuyama, boxer Naoya Inoue, and tennis player Naomi Osaka. And Japan came away from the Paris Olympics with a record of 20 gold medals, a best for the country for a Games on foreign soil.
But no one matches Ohtani, not even teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto who outpitched fellow Japanese Yu Darvish to defeat the San Diego Padres in the best-of-five NLDS.
The mania topped out when Japan won the World Baseball Classic about 20 months ago, defeating the United States. And it hit another peak when Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700-million contract and moved from the Angels to the Dodgers to start the 2024 season.
The only valley came in March when Ohtani was implicated in a gambling scandal. Prosecutors eventually found no evidence Ohtani was involved.
The next peak is building slowly with Ohtani and teammate Yamamoto in the NLCS against the New York Mets. If the Dodgers reach the World Series, public viewing areas are almost certain to be set up across Japan to watch the games — most being shown in early morning in the country.
The time difference between New York and Tokyo is 13 hours. It's 16 between Tokyo and Los Angeles.
Yukako Takahashi watched her 10-year-old son Haruka at Sunday's practice, and she was clear about Ohtani's influence on her son and his teammates.
“Everyone is inspired by him,” she said. “Kids wonder how he got his spirit. For kids he is just a big idol. He's perfect."
She said she wasn't regularly watching Ohtani's games from the United States, but she follows him on the local news. Many days, he's the top story — and not just the top sports story. She suggested interest was sure to build if the Dodgers reach the World Series later this month.
She also said Ohtani was inspirtional for the rest of Japan, partly because he's able to beat the Americans — and the Latin Americans — at their own game.
“The economy is down these days in Japan,” she said. “Things are very difficult these days. But with Ohtani being successful, he is our hope.”
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The Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team stand in line after their practice Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Stephen Wade)
Bats are seen on the ground as the Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team practices Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Tokyo. Japan. (AP Photo/Stephen Wade)
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday promised support for Bosnia as the troubled Balkan country struggles with reform needed to advance toward membership in the European Union.
Von der Leyen was in Bosnia as part of a trip this week to aspiring EU member states in the Western Balkans to assure them that EU enlargement remains a priority for the 27-nation bloc. From Bosnia, von der Leyen went on to neighboring Serbia.
The Western Balkans countries — Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia — are at different stages in their applications for EU membership. The countries have been frustrated by the slow pace of the process, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has propelled European leaders to push the six to join the bloc.
Bosnia gained candidate status in 2022 while EU leaders in March agreed in principle to open membership negotiations, though Bosnia must still do a lot of work.
“We share the same vision for the future, a future where Bosnia-Herzegovina is a full-fledged member of the European Union,” said von der Leyen at a joint press conference with Bosnian Prime Minister Bojana Kristo. “So, I would say, let’s continue working on that. We’ve gone a long way already, we still have a way ahead of us but I am confident that you’ll make it.”
Last year EU officials offered a 6-billion-euro (about $6.5 billion) growth plan to the Western Balkan countries in an effort to double the region’s economy over the next decade and accelerate their efforts to join the bloc. That aid is contingent on reforms that would bring their economies in line with EU rules.
The Commission on Wednesday approved the reform agendas of Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia following a green light from EU member states. That was a key step to allow payments under the growth plan upon completion of agreed reform steps.
“The accession process is, as you know, merit-based … we do not look at a rigid data but we look at the merits, the progress that a country is making,” said von der Leyen. "The important thing is that we have an ambitious reform agenda, like the other five Western Balkan countries also have. We stand ready to help you to move forward.”
Long after a 1992-95 ethnic war that killed more than 100,000 people and left millions homeless, Bosnia remains ethnically divided and politically deadlocked. An ethnic Serb entity — one of Bosnia's two equal parts joined by a common government — has sought to gain as much independence as possible.
Upon arrival in Bosnia, von der Leyen on Thursday first went to Donja Jablanica, a village in central Bosnia that was devastated in recent floods and landslides. The disaster in early October claimed 27 lives and the small village was virtually buried in rocks from a quarry located on a hill above.
Von der Leyen said the EU is sending an immediate aid package of 20 million euros ($21 million) and will also provide support for reconstruction later on.
Members of the Bosnian Presidency Zeljka Cvijanovic, left, Denis Becirovic, center and Zeljko Komsic, right, pose for a photo with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, prior to the start of their meeting in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, front left, walks with the member of the Bosnian Presidency Denis Becirovic, right foreground, prior to the start of their meeting in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen looks on at the start of her meeting with the members of the Bosnian Presidency in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen adjusts her headset during a joint news conference with the President of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Kristo in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a joint news conference with the President of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Kristo in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a joint news conference with the President of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Kristo in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Bosnian Serb political leader Milorad Dodik attend a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen smiles during a joint news conference with the President of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Kristo in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)
