Old wounds die hard, even during the moments of peak happiness. Shohei Ohtani may have just given this evidence during his World Series celebrations. The two-way phenom was the man of the hour, as he always is. Every reporter, American or Japanese, waited anxiously just to catch a few words out of his mouth, and Ohtani, too, obliged with their request. Only, there was one media house that may have received a resounding ‘no’ from Shotime.

Earlier in June reports had emerged that Shohei Ohtani had bought a mansion in LA. While the details were slow to emerge, it was quite surprising to see the address also being revealed. This was a major breach of privacy for a person as private as Ohtani, and he almost immediately decided to sell off the house. Two media houses were identified as the main culprits of this leak – Nippon Television and Fuji Television. The two were allegedly banned by Ohtani and Dodgers but during the World Series, Fuji TV got a chance to interview players. But the 30-year-old seemingly still remembers that leak.

In a video posted on X, Shohei Ohtani is seen interacting with different media people. According to OP, Ohtani allegedly shrugged off Fuji TV’s advances and refused to give them any interview time. Though there is no confirmation of the situation, the video does show Ohtani simply walking away from the spot after a person tells him about the interview. Perhaps old wounds do die hard.

The video allegedly comes directly from Fuji TV’s live broadcast of the game. Interestingly Shohei Ohtani gave an interview to NHK, another Japanese media house. On the other hand, Yoshinobu Yamamoto appeared on Fuji TV. So even though the Dodgers may have lifted the ban, at least for Ohtani, that ban stays. It is also to be noted that Fuji TV and Nippon TV had apologized to Ohtani regarding this breach of privacy but it seems to have had no impact on Shotime. 

How the Japanese media houses offended Shohei Ohtani

How details of Shohei Ohtani’s mansion emerged was quite shocking for the superstar. Reportedly, the reporters interviewed his entire neighborhood and even peeked through the wall to see the interiors of the property. With LA already having a rising house invasion issue, this could’ve put Ohtani and his family’s safety at big risk. As a result, the Dodgers star never moved into his new house and allegedly also became furious at his property dealers. Ohtani directed them to find a new home and be very discreet with its information.

That could be a big blow for Fuji TV. Simply put, the Dodgers’ World Series win has spiked interest in MLB as a whole in Japan. Also one can’t understate Shohei Ohtani’s fame in the Land of the Rising Sun. The first two games averaged over 15 million viewers in Japan – that’s a huge number when one takes into account the 9 am start time. Over 10% of the country’s population was sitting in front of the television to watch Shohei Ohtani in action. So one can see why nearly every media house surrounded Ohtani just to get a few words of his interview.

So as it stands, Shohei Ohtani still remembers the huge privacy issue that emerged due to his address leak. Months may have passed and he may have won the World Series but that has failed to change his opinion on that leak.