"Do I Have to Like It Even If I'm Not Interested?"
Voices of 'Disgust' from Otani's Hometown in Japan
"It has become a norm that even those who are not interested have to like Ohtani. I'm getting tired of it."
A Japanese office worker in their 20s expressed frustration over the flood of reports about Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers), an extraordinary baseball star born in Japan, and his wife Mamiko Tanaka. Recently, Japan's Weekly Gendai and Gendai Business reported that 'Ohtani Harassment (Ohtani Hara)' is spreading in Japan. Harassment is an English word meaning bullying, and in Japan, power harassment by authority is shortened to 'pawahara,' sexual harassment or molestation is called 'sekuhara,' and similar neologisms are used.
American professional baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) superstar Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers) [Image source=UPI Yonhap News]
'Ohtani Hara' refers to the feeling of 'fed-up people' as Ohtani appears daily in various news, advertisements, social networking services (SNS), and events in Japanese newspapers and broadcasts.
Ohtani, who has already achieved great success in Major League Baseball (MLB), has been in the spotlight not only for his marriage news but also for the illegal gambling scandal involving his close friend and interpreter. News about Ohtani off the field dominates the main pages of news and social media. With the MLB season underway, there is not a day when Ohtani's scandals and games are not a hot topic in the media and SNS.
Shohei Ohtani has risen as a prominent Asian star by achieving outstanding results in MLB. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Fans are happy, but for those uninterested, it's just "Ohtani again." One netizen said, "There are talks about forming a support group for Ohtani victims among friends in similar situations." Another netizen said, "Has there ever been an athlete who dominated the news to this extent before?" and added, "All media is focused solely on Shohei Ohtani. While marriage and interpreter dismissal reports are unavoidable, even the fact that he has a dog is reported as top news. It is also true that people who are fed up with this atmosphere are beginning to speak out."
Gendai Business stated, "The term 'Ohtani Harassment' itself started appearing around late February this year," and added, "From that time, a weary atmosphere among viewers and netizens regarding biased reporting has been circulating. From the marriage to the interpreter's dismissal and Ohtani's press conference, Ohtani-related posts have been pouring out like a waterfall not only in the news but also on SNS."
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