Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman of the Board of Directors, “The day when he will let go of Rakuten baseball team”, which is likely to be hastened by Tomohiro Anraku’s “harassment issue”.

Tomohiro Anraku, a key pitcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles professional baseball team, has caused a stir by reportedly “harassing” several young players.

One player complained that he was made to stand on his back in the locker room, with his lower body exposed while he was unable to move, and that he was even made a laughingstock by having a sock placed over his nether regions. There are other players who have been similarly victimized.

Some players also testified that Masahiro Tanaka laughed at them in the locker room. There are also reports that the people around him did not listen even when he was warned. ……” (sports newspaper reporter)

(Sports newspaper reporter) After admitting that there have been reports of damage, team president Masayuki Morii will hold hearings with Yasura himself and the players. In addition, the team is planning to cancel all of its events, including the year-end party.

The furor has only escalated, with a video spreading on the Internet and other media showing him kicking a junior player in the back and making fun of him during a commemorative photo shoot. Some sports newspapers reported that one player confessed that he had been fined money.

The team, realizing the seriousness of the situation, placed Yasura on house arrest. The team has postponed his contract renewal indefinitely, and in the worst case scenario, he may be “fired.

(Sportswriter) “In the midst of all this, Chairman Hiroshi Mikitani, the “general manager” of the Rakuten Group, has remained silent.

He has left it up to the team to decide on the disposition of Yasura,” said a sportswriter. However, this is quite unusual for Rakuten, where the owner’s wishes are very strong…” (source from the baseball world)

Rakuten is also the owner of the J-League soccer team Vissel Kobe, which won its first J1 championship on March 25, and the Anraku issue has put a damper on that.