Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has presented one of Taiwan’s highest honors to a legend of Japanese baseball, Oh Sadaharu. That is in recognition of his decades of contribution to promoting bilateral exchanges in professional baseball.
Lai bestowed the medal on Oh at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Thursday. Oh is known in the baseball world as the global home-run king, with a career total of 868.
Lai said he is deeply moved by Oh’s unwavering efforts over decades, not only for baseball in Japan but also for the promotion of the sport in Taiwan.
In response, Oh said he was deeply honored to receive such a distinguished medal.
He expressed hope that both Japan and Taiwan will advance past the pool stage of the World Baseball Classic that starts next month. He added that he wants the two to work together to help energize baseball in Asia.
Lai is known in Taiwan as a baseball fan. He said he is looking forward to watching a WBC pool-stage game between Japan and Taiwan and has no doubt it will be an exciting one.