Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani has reshaped modern baseball – and the enthusiasm of Japanese sports fans – with his unprecedented dominance as a true two-way superstar. Whether crushing home runs or shutting down opponents from the mound, Ohtani has energized both Major League Baseball (MLB) and international competition. He has led his teams to MLB World Series and World Baseball Classic (WBC) titles in recent years, and his popularity in Japan continues to surge. YouGov Sport surveyed a representative sample of 1,000 sports fans in Japan to quantify his impact.

Baseball’s enduring popularity in Japan

Baseball is the most popular sport in the country. 61% of Japanese sports fans say they are very or somewhat interested in baseball and 89% say they have at least some interest. The domestic Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league is most popular with 57% of fans being very or somewhat interested, but the MLB is a close second at 50%.

Japanese fans and MLB

Most Japanese sports fans (76%) indicate an interest in American sports leagues and 94% agree that American sports impact Japanese sports culture. Major League Baseball benefits greatly from this engagement as 50% of Japanese sports fans are very or somewhat interested in MLB, and 85% have at least some interest in the league. 65% expect their MLB interest to grow over the next 5 years.

No MLB team comes close to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Japanese fandom: 59% of Japanese MLB fans say the Dodgers are their favorite MLB team, far ahead of the Yankees (14%) and Cubs (9%) who rank second and third respectively. The Dodgers currently have three of the top four most popular players among Japanese fans (Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki). The Yankees have had several popular Japanese players over the years including Masahiro Tanaka, Hideki Matsui, Hideki Irabu, Hiroki Kuroda, and even Ichiro Suzuki for three seasons. Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki are star players for the Cubs.

Viewership numbers reinforce the appeal of the Dodgers: 59% of Japanese sports fans say they watched the 2025 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays and 86% of those who watched were rooting for Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers.

78% say that Shohei Ohtani is one of their favorite MLB players and 87% say they have a positive impression of him. 79% say Ohtani has increased their interest in MLB since he joined the league. Japanese players like Ohtani are the top driver of MLB engagement in Japan.