Most popular athletes in Japan 2024
According to a survey conducted in September 2024, baseball player Shohei Ohtani was the most popular athlete in Japan, with 29.2 percent of respondents voting for him. Shohei Ohtani also placed first in the previous years.
Baseball as the most popular sport in Japan
Baseball has been one of the most recognized sports in Japan since the start of the 1990s. With the introduction of the two-league system in 1950, the Japanese professional league, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) was established into what it is today and gained popularity. The Japanese national baseball team also frequently participates in international baseball competitions.
Japanese baseball players in Major League Baseball
The Japanese national team has typically performed well on the international stage. In fact, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) placed the Japanese national team first in the current world ranking, ahead of the United States. Despite this, playing in the Major League Baseball (MLB) is considered a glorious career path for Japanese baseball players. Ichiro Suzuki, who began his career in the MLB at the Seattle Mariners in 2001 and announced his retirement in 2019, has been an idol of the nation for decades. Shohei Ohtani is another example of this phenomenon. Since his signing with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017 and then in 2024 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, people in Japan (and the world) have acclaimed him as one of the best baseball players of all time.
