"Tall and Positive Person Is Ideal Type"…Video of Woman Presumed to Be 'Ohtani's Bride' Dancing Goes Viral

Otani's Likely Wife 'Tanaka Mamiko'
Dance Video Hits 7 Million Views
Also Photographed Near Otani's Training Ground

Speculation has arisen that Shohei Ohtani (30, LA Dodgers), a Major League Baseball (MLB) player in the United States, is engaged to former Japanese women's basketball player Tanaka Mamiko, and a video of Tanaka dancing has become a hot topic online. A Japanese netizen posted a video on their X account showing three women dancing, writing, "The one on the far left is rumored to be Shohei Ohtani's fianc?e, Tanaka Mamiko," and added, "She is cute and beautiful."

A video of Tanaka Mamiko dancing has become a hot topic online amid speculation that Shohei Ohtani (30, LA Dodgers), a Major League Baseball (MLB) player in the United States, is engaged to the former Japanese women's basketball player Tanaka Mamiko.
[Photo source=X (formerly Twitter)]

In the video, three tall women are dancing to pop singer Meghan Trainor's "Title." Midway through the video, a subtitle reads, "We are 180cm tall." The video surpassed 7 million views within a day of being posted. Earlier, on the 29th of last month, Ohtani announced his marriage news on his Instagram. Regarding his partner, he said, "She is an ordinary Japanese person," and added, "We met 3 to 4 years ago and got engaged last year." Subsequently, Japanese media outlets such as News Post Seven revealed the identity of a likely fianc?e.

The woman identified by the media is a former Japanese women's basketball player. She is over 180cm tall, started playing basketball in middle school, and graduated from a prestigious private university. She has experience competing on the world stage and has also worked as a model. After retiring from a corporate team last year, she moved to the United States and reportedly deleted her Instagram account.

In the video, three tall women are dancing to pop singer Meghan Trainor's "Title." In the middle of the video, a subtitle appears saying, "We are 180cm tall."
[Photo by X (formerly Twitter)]

Sports Graphic Number reported through an exclusive interview with Ohtani that his fianc?e is two years younger than him. Ohtani said, "It wasn't in a gym, but maybe during practice. I wasn't aware of when my wife first met me. She said she greeted me briefly as we passed each other. It was in a hallway inside the practice facility. But I clearly remember the second and third times we met."

Local netizens speculated that the woman fitting these conditions is former Japanese basketball player Tanaka Mamiko. Born in 1996, Tanaka graduated from Waseda University in Japan and played as a center for the Japanese women's professional basketball team Fujitsu Red Wave in 2019. She was selected as a candidate for the Japanese national team in August 2021 but retired after the 2022-2023 season.

Tanaka matching Ohtani's ideal type also adds weight to the "Ohtani wife theory." Ohtani has previously stated that his ideal partner is someone tall, diligent, and possessing positive energy. Last December, Ohtani signed a 10-year contract with the LA Dodgers worth $700 million (approximately 930 billion KRW), the highest amount in sports history.