Major League Baseball star Ohtani Shohei says he will make a donation along with his team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, to support people in Japan affected by the powerful earthquake on New Year’s Day.
Ohtani pledged the aid on social media on Thursday, along with a statement by the Dodgers saying the team and its owner firm will donate $1 million in addition to Ohtani’s donation.
“In support of the disaster relief efforts for the 2024 Sea of Japan earthquake and in collaboration with the Dodgers, I am making a donation in aid of the survivors,” said Ohtani in a statement shared by the Dodgers.
“I would like to thank those who have joined in the recovery effort, and my hope is that we continue to come together to support those whose lives have been upended. I hope for the rapid rescue of missing persons and the reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas.”
The death toll reached 94 and more than 200 are unaccounted for as of Friday after the magnitude-7.6 quake disaster devastated the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture and surrounding areas.
Ohtani, a native of Japan, just signed a $700 million contract with the Dodgers last month. He is from Iwate Prefecture, one of the areas hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. He was in his first year at a high school in the prefecture at the time.