Shohei Ohtani’s Dog Got a Fake Visa From US Embassy in Japan

Shohei Ohtani's dog, Dekopin (Decoy in English), has been given a fake visa, Ohtani showed off on Thursday.

Ohtani posted an image of a fake United States visa on Instagram. The visa came courtesy of Rahm Emanuel, the United States ambassador to Japan.

Emanuel shared the moment he presented the visa to Ohtani in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday.

"Maybe next time I’ll be fortunate enough to meet his MVPup, Decoy – this 'visa' should help? I promise my bark is worse than my bite!" Emanuel wrote.

Ohtani's dog rose to popularity after the two-way star posted a picture of his when he won the 2023 American League Most Valuable Player award on Nov. 1. The post set off an scavenger hunt to find out his name, with some speculating the dog was named after the team he signed with in free agency.

The dog's birth name is Dekopin, but since Ohtani is playing in America, he gave his name an American name too, Decoy.

By giving his dog two first names, Ohtani follows a naming convention that is common among people who come to American from Asia. It has become a common practice for people who move to American from an Asian country like Japan to take up American names, and to also give their children two names as well.

Ohtani signed 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, he will only be paid $2 million per year for the deal's duration, then the remaining $680 million from 2034 to 2043.