"I have three kids...I'm going to play baseball": Japan reacts to Otani's marriage news

Japanese Major League Baseball (MLB) player Shohei Ohtani, 29, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has made a surprise announcement that he is getting married, and the reaction in Japan has been overwhelming.

"I would like to announce to everyone that I am married," Ohtani wrote on social media (SNS) on Sept. 29, "I have married a Japanese woman and started a new life."

When he posted the news, NHK, the public broadcaster, broadcast a breaking news story with the caption, "Otani announces marriage, Japanese woman," over its regular broadcast screen. Private broadcasters quickly followed suit, suspending their regular broadcasts to report the news of Otani's marriage.

Major newspapers also featured the news of Otani's marriage as the top story on their websites. The Yomiuri Shimbun, the largest daily newspaper in Japan, posted the headline "Shohei Otani announces marriage" on its homepage throughout the afternoon, along with a photo of Otani with his dog Decofin.

The article on the portal site was flooded with comments from Japanese people. "Congratulations on your marriage," "I'm surprised by the sudden announcement," "I'm glad you announced it yourself," and so on.

Others were curious about Otani's wife, such as "I wonder what kind of woman she is," "I think they will have a wonderful family," and "If she is his chosen one, she will surely push him to greater heights." However, the Japanese 스포츠토토 media has yet to reveal any information about Otani's wife.

The date of the wedding announcement was "Feb. 29," and one commenter asked, "Does that mean they celebrate their wedding anniversary once every four years?

In Otani's hometown of Iwate, Japan, a total of 11,000 copies of the local newspaper Iwate Daily were distributed, according to the Sankei Shimbun. "On their way home from work, office workers and students were seen clutching the big news of 'Iwate Hero' in their hands," the Sankei Shimbun said.

Ohtani gained worldwide attention when he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers, the largest in world sports history.

Ohtani's marriage was later than planned. When he was 17, Ohtani drew out his baseball life plan to age 40, and in it, he wrote that he would achieve his goals of "winning a World Series and getting married" at age 26. He would have his first son at 28 and his second daughter at 31, according to the plan. At 33, he would have a third son, and at 37, his oldest son would start playing baseball. He hopes to raise his second son, who will inherit his genes, to be a baseball player as well.

"It's a fresh start with a new team and a new environment. The two of us (wife and dog) will work together to support each other and walk together with the fans," he said, adding, "I will be interviewed about my marriage tomorrow, so please refrain from disrespecting my family."