I'm tired of just watching Ohtani news. Excessive reporting competition, what's with Ohtani bullying?

Mar 30, 2025

I'm tired of just watching Ohtani news. Excessive reporting competition, what's with Ohtani bullying?
오타니 쇼헤이. EPA Yonhap News



"Today is the opening day of the Major League, and there are so many stories about Shohei Ohtani that we will reduce the related reports appropriately."

The day the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs played their official Major League Baseball opener at Tokyo Dome on the 18th. An anchor of a Japanese TV program said the above and gained sympathy from many viewers.

Even some Japanese people complain that they are tired of the phenomenon of 'Otani harassment' This phenomenon begins with excessive competition for news reports related to Ohtani.




Ohtani, the best star in the Major League and Japan's national sports hero, is making headlines every time. The Japanese media reports every little thing about Ohtani.

At the camp and game site of Ohtani's team, the Dodgers, almost 100 Japanese reporters flock every day. And there is an overheated competition in which everyone observes each and every one of Ohtani's actions and reports everything without exception.

I'm tired of just watching Ohtani news. Excessive reporting competition, what's with Ohtani bullying?
Those who lined up to buy products related to Major League Baseball's opening game at Tokyo Dome. AP Yonhap News
As a result, there are many voices complaining of fatigue because there is too much news about Ohtani. For example, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was involved in a bribery scandal last year and attended a political ethics review committee for the first time as a sitting prime minister, but the first report by Japanese broadcasters that day was the announcement of Ohtani's surprise wedding.




In addition, not only Ohtani's wife, Mamiko Tanaka's fashion, style, appearance, and behavior, but also one about Ohtani's dog 'decopin' was released and reported by the media, pointing out that it goes too far.

I'm tired of just watching Ohtani news. Excessive reporting competition, what's with Ohtani bullying?
AFP Yonhap News
It is also called 'Otani harassment' in Japan. This means that the coverage is so excessive that it seems to be bothering Ohtani. In particular, it reached its peak when the Dodgers and Cubs played the opening series of the 2025 season at Tokyo Dome. On the day of the opening game, Japanese broadcasters organized only related programs for more than eight hours. The actual game ended in less than three hours.

In particular, even when Japanese reporters interview players in other sports other than baseball, they are turning their backs on viewers due to excessive coverage, such as asking for thoughts or opinions on Ohtani. Even when the Japanese national soccer team passed the World Cup qualifying round on the 20th, when the Japanese media asked the national soccer team players about their thoughts on Otani, it was really inappropriate" was also criticized.






This article was translated by Naver AI translator.