Dekopin, also known as Decoy, is the dog of Shohei Ohtani. This week, the U.S. Embassy in Japan presented an inflated fake visa to the dog, mockingly identifying it as “000MVPUP000.”

 

During their meeting, former Chicago mayor and current U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel presented the Dodgers player with a custom-made fake visa.

Through his X (formerly known as Twitter) post, Emanuel expressed his joy at the opportunity to meet Ohtani-san, the two-time MVP, once again. “Hopefully, this ‘visa’ will make it easier for me to meet his MVPup, Decoy, the next time we meet.”

After Ohtani posted a photo of the visa to Instagram Story, the MLB retweeted it on X. The photo revealed that the forgery was rife with humor.

“N/A Dog Years” was Decoy’s listed age, “000MVPUP000” was his passport number, “000GOODBOY000” was his control number, and “canine” was his VISA type. Additionally, Decoy’s dual nationality between Japan and the US is mentioned on the fake passport.

The 29-year-old Ohtani initially gained notoriety with his brown-and-white puppy when the Los Angeles Angels star made an appearance on television last fall when he was accepting his second consecutive American League Most Valuable Player award.

As reported by Sports Illustrated, the diminutive Kooikerhondje canine “stole the show” at the virtual MVP awards presentation. Posting a photo of Shohei Ohtani and his dog on X with the caption: “The MVP and Shohei Ohtani,” the Major League Baseball and its broadcasting partner Fox even made light of the spaniel’s online fаme.

Ohtani, who is notoriously tight-lipped about his personal life, remained evasive about his beloved dog for months as baseball media probed for details, beginning with the animal’s nаme.

Nevertheless, the identity of Ohtani’s dog was ultimately disclosed when the back-to-back MVP announced last month that he was signing the largest off-season free agency deal in Major League Baseball history with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

During a press conference for the signing of his deal with the Dodgers, the Major League Baseball star was eventually pressed directly to reveаl the nаme of his dog: Decoy, Ohtani informed the media present.

Ohtani reportedly informed the reporters through his longtime translator Ippei Mizuhara, “I figured it would be hard for American people to pronounce it, so he has an American nаme.” This information was reported by the Associated Press.

After months of reporting on the MLB star’s mysteriоus free agency decision, sports reporters quickly recognized the irony in the nаme of his pet. Fans are welcome to refer to Ohtani’s dog as “Decoy,” according to Dodgers writer Matthew Moreno’s X post.

“Which, considering his free agency experience, is ideal,” Moreno quipped.