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Ichiro is about to get his Hall of Fame moment. For Japan, he's more than just a baseball star

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Ichiro is about to get his Hall of Fame moment. For Japan, he's more than just a baseball star
News

News

Ichiro is about to get his Hall of Fame moment. For Japan, he's more than just a baseball star

2025-01-21 06:39 Last Updated At:06:40

TOKYO (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki is all about baseball, but he's much more than that in Japan.

Back home, he's a wellspring of national pride, much like Shohei Ohtani now. His triumphs across the Pacific buoyed the nation as Japan's economy sputtered through the so-called lost decades of the 1990s and into the 2000s.

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FILE - Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, of Japan, makes a leaping catch at the wall to rob Cleveland Indians' Carlos Santana of a hit in the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 17, 2012, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, of Japan, makes a leaping catch at the wall to rob Cleveland Indians' Carlos Santana of a hit in the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 17, 2012, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki glances toward home plate as he steals second base during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Sunday, Sept. 24, 2006, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki glances toward home plate as he steals second base during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Sunday, Sept. 24, 2006, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki follows through after hitting his 3,000th career hit in the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Tuesday, July 29, 2008, in Arlington, Texas.(AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki follows through after hitting his 3,000th career hit in the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Tuesday, July 29, 2008, in Arlington, Texas.(AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

FILE - Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki smiles as he visits with players and coaches before batting practice before the team's baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

FILE - Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki smiles as he visits with players and coaches before batting practice before the team's baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki, of Japan, hits a solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Sunday, May 31, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki, of Japan, hits a solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Sunday, May 31, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

“He healed the wounds in Japan’s national psyche,” Kiyoteru Tsutsui, professor of sociology at Stanford University, told The Associated Press.

On Tuesday, he’s expected to be the first Japanese player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and possibly only the second player chosen unanimously after New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.

Ichiro debuted in Major League Baseball in 2001 with the Seattle Mariners, the first Japanese position player to span the Pacific and an instant star. Right-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo preceded him, and Hideki Matsui came just after, both boosting the country's confidence in a period of national malaise.

Tsutsui termed Ichiro a “great cultural export," akin to Hello Kitty, sushi, manga and others creations from Japan.

“It may not be an exaggeration to say that Ichiro represents Japan's transition from the faceless economic animal to a producer of global cultural icons,” Tsutsui said.

Ichiro started playing baseball at age 7 on a Little League team near Nagoya in central Japan. Sure, baseball is baseball, but the culture around the game — known as “yakyu” (field ball) — is special.

He was driven by his father, Nobuyuki Suzuki, and came up through what is often described as a regimented baseball-training system that some link to the martial arts and even samurai history.

Ichiro grew to be hip in the majors, which fit the nation’s branding as “Cool Japan.” On the way, he bumped into pressure in Japan to conform, expressed in the saying “deru kugi wa utareru.”

Roughly in English: “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.”

“Young people flocked to watch him because they saw his do-it-my-way rebel spirit,” William Kelly, emeritus professor of Japanese studies at Yale University, wrote in an email. “Old fans were drawn to his seriousness of purpose and his force of concentration.’

Ichiro developed his unique swing very early, lifting his right leg and almost running to first base before hitting the ball. Repeatedly told in Japan to change it, he declined.

His given name Ichiro — ’ichi” means “one” in Japanese — started appearing on the back of his jersey in 1994 with the Orix BlueWave. Suzuki is a very common family name, and manager Akira Ohgi wanted to single out Ichiro for attention.

“I see Ichiro as an artist, a craftsman,” said Shimpei Miyagawa, an assistant professor at Temple University in Japan. “The point is that Ichiro is someone who stands out in both singular talent and longevity in a game that is ironically played as a team sport.”

A Japanese, Miyagawa taught high school in Massachusetts and recalls students wearing Ichiro jerseys — in the heart of Boston Red Sox country.

“To me that speaks volumes about the cultural breakthrough,” Miyagawa said.

Ichiro's games were shown live and on tape when be began playing with the Mariners.

Nomo had a similar effect when he debuted with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995. Ichiro topped that interest level, wrote Robert Whiting in his book “The Samurai Way of Baseball.”

“Ichiro was the first to appear front and center ever single day — a slender Japanese among pumped up musclemen, sparking big American teammates to victory — and the public could simply not get enough of this delectable sight," he wrote.

Whiting wrote that few Japanese had seen much of Ichiro when he played in Japan for the BlueWave in the western city of Kobe.

“His face adorned billboards all over Japan. Yet he nearly always played to half-empty stands, in games that were almost never telecast nationally.”

Ichiro will go into the Hall of Fame as professional baseball’s all-time leader in hits with 4,367 (3,089 in MLB and 1,278 in Japan) — more even than Pete Rose's 4,256. He broke George Sisler’s single-season hits mark of 257 in 2004. The new mark is 262.

He played his last two games in 2019 in the Tokyo Dome against the Athletics, going 0 for 5 for the Mariners and then retiring at 45.

“I really wanted to play until I was 50,” he said after his final game. “But I couldn’t do it. But it was a way of motivating myself. If I had never said that, I don’t think I would have come this far.”

Ichiro made global news just over a year ago when he broke a window with a 426-foot home run while teaching students batting techniques at a Japanese high school.

Much of Ichiro’s early life is documented in the modest Ichiro Exhibition Room in his hometown of Toyoyama. It’s situated in a residential area, a four-story, inconspicuous building; a shrine filled with Ichiro memorabilia.

It’s only open on the weekends and it’s sure to become popular as this summer’s Cooperstown induction nears. A marker guiding tourists to the office is graced with a silhouette of left-handed hitting Ichiro — his right leg raised as he begins his swing.

Baseball was introduced into schools in Japan in 1872 by an American teacher, and many have used it to gauge the country’s march toward modernization after centuries of isolation from the West.

Ichiro's Hall of Fame enshrinement coincides with a surge of Japanese players shining in MLB. Ohtani is a singular talent in the history of the sport, and he was one of a dozen Japanese exports in the majors last season, including Yu Darvish, Shota Imanaga and $325 million Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

“Ichiro and Ohtani command so much respect from their peers and the public alike because they are focused on honing their crafts,” Tsutsui wrote.

Phenom pitcher Roki Sasaki, who announced Friday he's leaving Japan to join Ohtani on the Dodgers, continues the evolution.

“The Hall of Fame vote caps that process,” Tsutsui added. “And many Japanese embrace the recognition that he is one of the greatest players to ever play in the Majors.”

This story has been corrected to show that Hideo Nomo is right-handed, not left-handed.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

FILE - Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, of Japan, makes a leaping catch at the wall to rob Cleveland Indians' Carlos Santana of a hit in the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 17, 2012, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, of Japan, makes a leaping catch at the wall to rob Cleveland Indians' Carlos Santana of a hit in the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 17, 2012, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki glances toward home plate as he steals second base during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Sunday, Sept. 24, 2006, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki glances toward home plate as he steals second base during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox Sunday, Sept. 24, 2006, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki follows through after hitting his 3,000th career hit in the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Tuesday, July 29, 2008, in Arlington, Texas.(AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki follows through after hitting his 3,000th career hit in the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Tuesday, July 29, 2008, in Arlington, Texas.(AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

FILE - Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki smiles as he visits with players and coaches before batting practice before the team's baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

FILE - Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki smiles as he visits with players and coaches before batting practice before the team's baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki, of Japan, hits a solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Sunday, May 31, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

FILE - Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki, of Japan, hits a solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Sunday, May 31, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

President Donald Trump President Donald Trump wraps up a Mideast tour in the United Arab Emirates with a breakfast for business leaders and a visit to an interfaith place of worship named for the Abraham Accords he negotiated.

As part of the accords, the UAE and some other countries in the Middle East recognized Israel. Trump departs Abu Dhabi after his visit to the Abrahamic Family House .

During his visit to the region, violence flared in the West Bank, and Gaza. Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people Friday, adding to the more than 120 people who died in recent days.

Here's the latest:

At least 48 bodies were brought to the Indonesian hospital and another 16 bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital, health officials in Gaza said, as strikes overnight into Friday morning hit the outskirts of Deir al-Balah and the city of Khan Younis.

The strikes came as U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up his Middle East visit that skipped Israel and offered no prospect for a ceasefire in the war-battered territory.

There had been widespread hope that Trump’s regional trip could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.

The interfaith complex in Abu Dhabi features a mosque, church and synagogue — houses of worship for the three Abrahamic faiths.

It was built after the United Arab Emirates signed onto the Abraham Accords in 2020, during President Donald Trump’s first term. The agreement –- which Trump has encouraged other Middle Eastern and North African countries to join –- saw the UAE recognize Israel.

The visit to the white-marble place of worship on the shores of the Persian Gulf is set to conclude Trump’s first major foreign trip of his second term.

“I think it’s time for us to just do it,” Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi.

Trump reiterated that he wasn’t surprised that Putin skipped a U.S. orchestrated meeting in Turkey between Ukrainian and Russian officials. Putin didn’t want to go because he’s not there, Trump said.

Trump added that a meeting with Putin would happen “as soon as we can set it up.”

“ I would actually leave here and go,” said Trump, who noted his daughter Tiffany just gave birth to her first child. “I do want to see my beautiful grandson.”

Trump says he’s had an “incredible” trip to the Middle East but that “now it’s time to go back home.” He added: “My daughter had a baby and I’m going to go home and see that baby.”

Tiffany Trump gave birth to a boy.

“She’s doing great and the baby’s great.”

An Israeli official said Cabinet members are meeting Friday to assess the negotiations in Qatar and to decide on next steps. The official was not authorized to brief media on the meeting and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

At an event to highlight business partnerships between the UAE and US companies, Trump gave himself a big pat on the back.

“I’m just thinking we have a president of the United States doing the selling,” Trump said to business leaders as they walked him through a presentation on investments that are benefitting the American economy. “You think Biden would be doing it? I don’t think so. But I think its so important. I have to be a cheerleader for our country.”

President Donald Trump has arrived at a business forum being held at Qasr al-Watan, a ceremonial palace in Abu Dhabi.

Trump entered and listened to a presentation from Sultan al-Jaber, the head of the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., as well as officials from Exxon Mobil Corp. and Occidental, two oil firms.

Al-Jaber then presented Trump a memento that included a drop of oil in it.

“This is the highest quality oil there is on the planet,” Trump told those watching.

He then drew laughter when he said: “And they only gave me a drop -- so I’m not thrilled.”

Hostage families called on their government Friday to work with President Trump to release those still held in Gaza.

A statement from the hostages forum, which supports the families said people woke up with “heavy hearts” amid reports of increased attacks across Gaza at the end of Trump’s visit to the Middle East. There were widespread attacks in northern Gaza Friday as Trump was finishing his visit to Gulf States but not Israel.

Israel says about 23 of the hostages are said to be alive.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to push ahead with a promised escalation of force in Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip to pursue his aim of destroying the Hamas militant group, which governs Gaza.

The hostage families called on Netanyahu to “join hands” with Trump’s efforts to release the hostages.

“Missing this historic opportunity for a deal to bring the hostages home would be a resounding failure that will be remembered in infamy forever.

Trump is wrapping up his four-day visit to the Middle East, but he’s keeping a close eye on what’s going on back in Washington.

Before heading out Friday morning to the Qasr Al Watan presidential for the final engagements of his trip, the president took to his Truth Social platform to hammer “Radical Left Sleazebags” after Supreme Court justices on Thursday heard more than two hours of arguments debating how the lower courts should handle Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship.

“I hope the Supreme Court doesn’t fall for the games they play,” Trump added. “The people are with us in bigger numbers than ever before.”

President Donald Trump is kicking off the final day of his Middle East trip with a meeting of U.S. and UAE business executives alongside UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Energy, health care, aviation, entertainment and other business leaders will be in attendance to highlight ties between the two countries -- a central focus of Trump’s trip to the region. Trump will then tour the Abrahamic Family House, a complex that houses a church, mosque and synagogue and is a symbol of interfaith tolerance. Trump has encouraged other countries in the region to join the Abraham Accords and recognize Israel, as the UAE did in 2020. The president will then depart back to Washington.

Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza on Friday morning, as U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up his Middle East visit.

An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, where they were brought. Survivors said many people were still under the rubble.

The widespread attacks across northern Gaza come as Trump finishes his visit to Gulf states but not Israel.

There had been widespread hope that Trump’s regional visit could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes.

President Donald Trump will make several stops before taking off on Air Force One to end his Mideast trip on Friday.

He’ll attend a business summit in the morning in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Trump later will visit the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi. It is home to a mosque, a church and a synagogue. The UAE built it after diplomatically recognizing Israel in an agreement known as the Abraham Accords, as Christianity, Islam and Judaism are all known as the Abrahamic faiths.

Etihad Airways announced Friday it would purchase 28 wide-body Boeing aircraft during a visit by President Donald Trump to the United Arab Emirates.

Etihad is the government-owned airline of Abu Dhabi that also flies East-West routes like Emirates, the long-haul carrier in neighboring Dubai.

Etihad said in a statement that the sale included “a mix of Boeing 787 and 777X aircraft, powered by GE engines and supported by a services package.”

Boeing did not immediately acknowledge the deal.

Trump was due to address a business conference in Abu Dhabi on Friday, the last day of his Mideast trip that’s also taken him to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which booked a major Boeing order for its long-haul carrier, Qatar Airways.

Tia Goldenberg contributed from Tel Aviv

President Donald Trump and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan participate in a business roundtable at Qasr Al Watan, Friday, May 16, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan participate in a business roundtable at Qasr Al Watan, Friday, May 16, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump attends a business meeting and roundtable at Qasr Al Watan, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Friday, May 16, 2025. At right is Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.(AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

President Donald Trump attends a business meeting and roundtable at Qasr Al Watan, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Friday, May 16, 2025. At right is Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.(AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

President Donald Trump tours the St. Francis Church at the Abrahamic Family House, Friday, May 16, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump tours the St. Francis Church at the Abrahamic Family House, Friday, May 16, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan talk at Qasr Al Watan, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan talk at Qasr Al Watan, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrive at Qasr Al Watan, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrive at Qasr Al Watan, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump and Sheikh Khaled Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, right, tour the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump and Sheikh Khaled Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, right, tour the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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