<figure id="attachment_391389" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3132px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-391389"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8aac9f49"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/09/8c31b82920ec02e5adf0777a8894c775.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-391389" class="wp-caption-text">Shohei Ohtani (left) and his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who were in a truly &#8220;honeymoon relationship.&#8221;</figcaption></figure>
When you hear &#8220;Ippei Mizuhara,&#8221; no one would forget him, but most people may no longer be interested.
In April 2024, the U.S. federal prosecutors announced that Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Major League Baseball player Shohei Ohtani of the &#8220;Los Angeles Dodgers,&#8221; had been criminally charged with bank fraud for allegedly embezzling approximately 2.5 billion yen from Ohtani&#8217;s account. His sentencing is scheduled for October, six months after the charges were filed.
On September 4, NEWS Post Seven published a recent photo of Mizuhara. To be precise, it was the Japanese media reporting on a local media outlet&#8217;s coverage of his current situation.

<h2>His wife is still by his side.</h2>
The recent photo of Mizuhara, the defendant, was published by the American entertainment media outlet &#8216;Backgrid.&#8217; The photo appears to have been taken at what seems to be his home, where Mizuhara, wearing a beige hoodie, black shorts, and a black cap, is holding a paper bag from the supermarket &#8220;Whole Foods&#8221; and a six-pack of Orion Beer. His wife was also seen by his side.
Two months earlier, local media reported that he had been spotted working as an Uber Eats delivery person in the Los Angeles area. Following this report, NBC Los Angeles reached out to Uber Eats, and a spokesperson for Uber Eats responded, 
&#8220;Mizuhara had been working as a delivery person for a few years, but was banned from delivering due to ongoing litigation.&#8221;
And it was reported that.
Regarding the recent article by local entertainment media that featured a photo of Mizuhara, the defendant,
&#8220;It’s a rare occurrence.&#8221;
This was said by a coordinator who travels between Japan and America.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Why Target Japanese, Not Hollywood Celebrities?"></div>
&#8220;It was an incident where a superstar, Shohei Ohtani, was defrauded of a large sum of money by his interpreter, so at that time, it certainly caught the attention of the entire nation. Major media outlets reported on the incident, and Mizuhara, the defendant, was featured on television every day. However, right now, it’s questionable whether there is much attention on Mizuhara himself or the trial. While Ohtani is still a topic of discussion, there are no longer any people outside of Japan talking about Mizuhara.
If a verdict had been reached, that would be understandable, but I can&#8217;t imagine Americans being interested in what Mizuhara is doing afterward, so I’m honestly surprised by the article’s publication. In Japan, it’s common for weekly magazines to interview about what happened to someone who was once a topic of conversation, but in America, I’ve never heard of anyone like Mizuhara being followed up on, except for Hollywood celebrities.&#8221;
However, since the reports are coming from media that deal with entertainment gossip or tabloids and not from major media outlets, there must be some kind of intent behind it.
&#8220;I believe the same goes for Japanese entertainment media, but American entertainment media won’t cover a story unless it’s something that can attract attention. It’s unclear what the &#8216;appeal&#8217; is for a media outlet that usually publishes photos of Hollywood celebrities’ casual outfits for parties to cover Mizuhara, but one possibility is that the target is &#8216;Japanese&#8217; and the Japanese market&#8221; (the same coordinator).
It’s suggested that they figured it would be a sure way to make money because Japanese media would definitely be interested and want the photos.
&nbsp;
<h2>Regarding Kei Komuro and Mako&#8217;s situation.</h2>
&#8220;I think this was felt during the Komuro Kei and Mako couple&#8217;s turmoil, but at that time, it seemed that local media and paparazzi didn’t understand who they were or even what was being discussed in Japan. There were paparazzi who were frustrated to realize that the couple they surrounded, composed of photographers and reporters from Japan and international students commissioned by Japanese media, were actually a &#8216;money tree'&#8221; (the same coordinator).
When the story of turning the incident into a drama in Hollywood was brought up,
&#8220;That’s a lie. Who would watch such a drama?&#8221;
Was the response.
However, in May, the American major production company Lionsgate, known for producing the &#8216;Expendables&#8217; series starring Sylvester Stallone and the horror movie &#8216;Saw&#8217; series, announced that they are progressing with plans to turn it into a TV series.
Even if the target is primarily the Japanese market, they likely believe it will be profitable enough. It seems that the &#8216;Mizuhara incident&#8217; is giving off a scent of money locally.

 Hiroyuki Sasaki (Entertainment Journalist)

 Kojiro Yamada

 It seems that some people have not heard his name in a while. ...... The "recent photo" of Ippei Mizuhara, a former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, who was arrested on bank fraud charges, has become a topic of conversation. In addition, his wife, who was also rumored to be divorced, is seen beside him. ......

Behind the Scenes of the Unusual Decision to Feature Shohei Ohtani’s Former Interpreter Ippei Mizuhara in the US

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