When Shohei Ohtani paid a visit to the American Embassy in Tokyo, he was given a surprise present.
When the two-time American League MVP visited with U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, he was presented with a replica visa for his dog, Dekopin, also known by his American moniker, Decoy.
Emanuel wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “Thrilled to meet trailblazing two-time MLB MVP Ohtani-san again.” “Maybe next time I’ll be fortunate enough to meet his MVPup, Decoy.”
The present was posted by Emanuel on Thursday, even though the visa was issued on January 9.
When Ohtani included Decoy in his MVP award speech in November, the news coverage of the event was extensive. At first, the pitcher wouldn’t say what his dog’s name was, leading some people to surmise that Ohtani was thinking about naming his dog after a team.
Ohtani signed a $700 million, ten-year contract to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers in December. In a later press conference at Dodger Stadium, he disclosed the name of his dog.