Inaba was also baffled by the withdrawal from the Samurai Japan Tournament…Yamakawa Hotaka, suspected of indecent assault, “has long been questioned for his strong assertiveness” and behavior.

Allegations of indecent assault by Hotaka Yamakawa (31) of the Seibu team are creating a stir.

On May 11, Bunshun Online reported that a female acquaintance in her 20s, A, was forcibly sexually assaulted by Yamakawa. Yamakawa denied any coercion, saying, “It was absolutely not forced,” but on May 23 he was referred to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office for prosecution. Seibu, without its main gun, had lost 6-15 games in May (as of May 29), when the scandal broke out, and was in a race with Rakuten for last place.

Yamakawa married an older woman he met in college in 2005 and has a young daughter. No matter how much he denies having committed indecent acts, there is no doubt that he committed adultery and betrayed his family. This scandal must have tarnished his image considerably.

Yamakawa was selected as a member of the WBC “Samurai Japan” team that Japan won the WBC, and was famous as a beloved character who would enliven fans with his “Dosukoi pose” when he hit a home run. When other players were too tired to respond to the press, Yamakawa was the only one who would stop and say, “Let’s talk about something. He was well received by fans and the media. ……

Yamakawa Declined to be a “Premier,” but Wants to Participate in the Olympics

On the other hand, there was another side to the “beloved character.

The most questionable event was the “W B S C Premier 12″ in November ’19, when the team defeated rival Korea to become the world’s No. 1. Yamakawa, who won the home run crown for the second time that year, was selected as a candidate for the national team by then Samurai Japan manager Atsunori Inaba. However, he declined the call-up, citing poor condition.

This is when those involved were puzzled. Although he withdrew from the national team due to poor physical condition, he participated in the Seibu fall camp and was playing vigorously and spontaneously. Inaba was puzzled by this. On the other hand, Yamakawa told the sports press, “I would like to play in the Tokyo Olympics (as a member of the Japanese national team). I don’t know if his withdrawal from the “Premier 12” had any effect, but in the end, Yamakawa was not selected for the Tokyo Olympics, which was coached by Inaba.

The true reason for Yamakawa’s withdrawal from the “Premier 12” is unknown. There was a lot of speculation among those involved.

There is a story that he was dissatisfied with coach Inaba’s leadership. In the Japan-U.S. Baseball Tournament in November 2006, Yamakawa was sent to bat for him in the ninth inning against a major league selection in a close game, while playing fourth. After the game, Inaba said, ‘I judged that he was not hitting at his own timing and in time.

Also, Masanao Yoshida and Seiya Suzuki, who are now active in the Majors, were selected for the “Premier 12,” and there are reports that Yamakawa thought he could not be the No. 4 hitter. Yamakawa is surprisingly assertive. There was speculation that Yamakawa’s decision to withdraw from the national team was due to the fact that he put his own feelings and convenience first, rather than the wishes of the team. Yamakawa may not have meant to do so, but his desire to participate in the Olympics, which attracts more attention from around the world than the Premier 12, was criticized on the Internet as being too convenient.

The indecent assault allegation against Ms. A revealed a different side of Yamakawa from her “beloved character. If it becomes an incident, the hurdles to his return to the baseball world will be quite high.