Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto examines his bat during the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
On the Toronto Blue Jays’ media seating chart, Canadian, American and other outlets fill most of the 101-seat press box located on the 300-level of the Rogers Centre, with plenty of room for public relations to spare.
Spanning eight consecutive spots in the middle of the chart are four outlets, two seats per organization, primarily covering one Blue Jay – rookie Kazuma Okamoto. The four are all part of the Japanese press corps.
Okamoto, 29, spent 11 years in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Yomiuri Giants, where he earned six all-star nods, before coming to Toronto.
“I’m thankful and grateful that the Japanese media is following me around,” Okamoto said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “And [I] definitely feel the support back home.”
Okamoto isn’t the only Japanese MLB player to warrant attention from his home country. Players like Shohei Ohtani and Masataka Yoshida have Japanese media, whether it’s a handful or over a dozen, consistently covering them.
Kazuma Okamoto signed a four-year, US$60-million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, joining Major League Baseball after an 11-year run in Japan.
The Canadian Press
During Ohtani’s rookie season with the Angels, The Globe and Mail reported that around 25 members of the Japanese media travelled on the road to cover the superstar specifically. That count ballooned above 50 at home games in Anaheim.
George Springer, an admitted “pretty low-key guy,” commended Okamoto on the way he deals with the media attention.
“He seems to handle it in his own way,” Springer said. “He’s obviously very popular in his home country, and he’s very popular here, so it’s cool.”
Part of that popularity stems from where Okamoto played before Toronto. Junko Ichimura, a contracted writer for Hochi Shimbun, a Japanese sports newspaper, said Okamato is a “big deal to Japanese readers.”
“When a Japanese player comes [to North America], in their first year, people want to know how they play,” Ichimura said. “He’s been a big name in Japan for years.”
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On the homepage of Hochi Shimbun, it’s common to see articles specifically on Japanese MLB players, like Okamoto, which focus on their performance before diving into other tidbits from any given game if warranted.
Ichimura said that while she doesn’t solely focus on Okamoto, that’s where the bulk of her attention lies. When she began her journalism career in 1989, there were no active Japanese players in MLB.
But in 1995, Hideo Nomo joined the Los Angeles Dodgers – Japan’s first big-league player since Masanori Murakami. Ichimura said that moment opened the door for Japanese players and reporters alike.
Kiyoko Taniguchi, a freelance writer for Kyodo News, also harked back to Nomo’s North American debut.
“Everybody paid attention to the Japanese-born player,” Taniguchi said. “That’s a big story, and since then we’ve had more Japanese players [in MLB]. They’re already famous, so people want to know how they’re doing here.”
There are four Japanese news outlets tracking every move and word from Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto.Chris O'Meara/The Associated Press
Ichimura splits time between Toronto, where she covers Okamoto, and her home in New Hampshire, where she commutes to Boston to cover Yoshida.
“As more players come, I have more assignments here,” Ichimura said.
As for the inverse, she remembered Andruw Jones, a 2026 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, during his brief stint in Japan. Ichimura, who spent one-third of the year in hotels last season due to travel, doesn’t recall the Willemstad, Curaçao, native having American or Curaçaoan media following him.
“Maybe budget-wise we are allowed to do that, because it costs a lot of money,” Ichimura said on why Japanese outlets fund player-specific coverage. “[Readers] want more detail, and then we’re competing [against each other], so multiple companies send reporters here.
“I don’t see many the other way around.”
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While North American wire services will provide coverage on contests featuring Okamoto, Ichimura said readers want Okamoto-focused news on how he does and what he says. The type of information where in-person, player-specific reporting is typically required.
Part of that reporting means navigating the challenges of player-centric coverage in a team-based sport. If Okamoto has an individually great game amid a hideous team loss, the media contingent understands if he wants space.
“He knows why we’re here, and he knows our responsibility, so he’s trying to be available as much as he can,” Ichimura said. “If [Toronto] loses badly and he has a couple of hits – he doesn’t want to call attention to himself – sometimes he’ll ask to be excused, and we’ll respect that.
“He cares about the clubhouse.”
Okamoto, a self-described “man of few words,” said having media members able to speak his native language can make things easier.
“The nuances could be difficult sometimes,” Okamoto said about speaking through an interpreter. “But being able to have access to a translator has been a huge help.”
As for what he thinks of Toronto during his first couple of months in the city? Okamoto lived up to his self-proclamation.
“It’s awesome.”