Latest news with #non-Japanese-speaking
Otago Daily Times
14 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
About both journey, destination
While Japan welcomed an incredible 37 million international visitors last year and is targeting 60 million per year by the end of the decade, there are still parts of the country that host few foreign tourists and don't seem to have changed much in the past few decades, Queenstown travel writer Craig McLachlan finds. Two-thirds of international visitor nights are spent in Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima and few stray far from the beaten path. I've been writing Japan guidebooks for Lonely Planet since 1998 and it's part of my job to tell visitors how to get off that beaten path and inform them about parts of Japan that they've never heard of — and I can't think of a more enjoyable job. Island-hopping My wife Yuriko and I are in Japan at present, island-hopping from Kagoshima, at the southern end of Kyushu, Japan's third-largest island, to Naha, the main city in Okinawa. Didn't know you could go island-hopping in Japan? Well, this is one of the world's great boat journeys. Nothing luxurious at all; these are inter-island ferries that have delivering freight, the lifeblood of the islands, as their primary purpose. In return, they cart agricultural products from the islands to market. Moving islanders to and from the various islands to Kagoshima and Naha comes next, with carting tourists, especially non-Japanese-speaking ones, as an afterthought. If you want to take this on, be aware that island-hopping through the Amami Islands is like an old-style backpacking adventure. It's about both the journey and the destination, an extremely satisfying trip with experiences to be had along the way that you'll never forget. But it's a trip that's going to require a bit of effort — not many English-speakers, English-language menus or much in the way of Western-style food out this way — but the locals are friendly, you'll face a lot of smiles and most will try to help you make your visit work out for everyone. The journey It's a 25-hour journey from Kagoshima to Naha, with stops at four islands along the way — Amami Ōshima, Tokunoshima, Okinoerabujima and Yoron-tō. Each day, there's one ferry heading south — Kagoshima to Naha — and one ferry heading north — Naha to Kagoshima. Outside of the Japanese holiday seasons — Golden Week (late April to early May) and summer holidays (July 20 to the end of August) — you can pretty much turn up an hour before a sailing and get the cheapest ticket to ride to the next island. You'll want to pre-book a spot in Japanese holiday periods. If you want to go the whole hog, a 14-day norihōdai (ride as much as you like!) pass costs ¥30,000 yen (about $NZ344) and you could ride the ferry from Kagoshima to Naha and back (or vice versa) over two weeks. One thing to keep in the back of your mind — June to October is typhoon season in Japan and typhoons tend to play havoc with ferry schedules. Think of it as part of the adventure! On this trip, Yuriko and I opted to take the ferry from Kagoshima and spend two nights each on Tokunoshima, Okinoerabujima and Yoron-tō, then a few nights in Naha, before flying back to Osaka. It's just as easy to fly to Naha from any number of mainland cities, then ride the ferry north to Kagoshima. Leaving Kagoshima We were surprised at the number of schoolkids in uniform milling around at Kagoshima port. It was spring holidays in Japan. The new school year starts in early April each year and school was out. If all those kids were getting on the ferry it would be a very crowded ship, indeed. Once we boarded the ferry and looked back, however, all became clear. The crowd of students had come to farewell a beloved teacher who was being transferred to one of the Amami Islands for a year or two. About 200 waving students lined the railings at the port, with unfurled banners wishing the teacher good luck. Equally, when we arrived on Tokunoshima, a group of students and parents was there to greet and welcome their new teacher with much excitement to the island. Both the Kagoshima departure and Tokunoshima arrival were moving sights, testament to the value of a good teacher. Tokunoshima The first island we hopped off the ferry at, Tokunoshima, proudly claims a couple of remarkable records. This tiny dot on the ocean, with a population of around 22,000, has had not one, but two Guinness World Record-holders for the world's oldest person. Shigechiyo Izumi got the big prize in 1979, then lived another seven years before dying aged 120 years and 237 days. Kamata Hongo became the world's oldest person in 1999 and lived to 116 years and 45 days. Dubbed "the island of longevity", Tokunoshima also hit amazing highs at the other end of the scale, recording Japan's highest total fertility rate of 2.25 (the number of children a woman has in her lifetime), in figures released last year. That's an interesting number, considering that Aotearoa's total fertility rate is 1.66 births per woman and Japan, as a whole, is at 1.26 (both 2022). Unfortunately, despite this encouraging figure, the island's population is still declining, with young people leaving Tokunoshima for work and opportunities on the mainland. We loved our time on Tokunoshima, staying in Kametsu, the largest town on the island, by the port of Kametoku. The only way to really see what the island has to offer is with a set of wheels and rental cars are available in the port. There is a great passion on the island for tōgyū, a kind of bovine sumō, that has a 400-year history on Tokunoshima. The best English translation of tōgyū is bullfighting, but this is nothing like the Spanish version that pits man against bull. In tōgyū, it's bull against bull, the two locking horns and trying to force each other backwards. The bout is decided when one bull tires, retreats and runs away. The bulls are ranked, much like in sumō, given inspiring "fighting names" and are much loved and cared for by their owners. There are three big tournaments on Tokunoshima each year, and while there is prize money, we were told that it is minimal when compared with the costs of keeping and training a bull. It's all about pride on the island. Owners tend and train their bulls like pets and after 5pm each day, once owners have finished work, huge 800kg-1000kg bulls can be seen being led down roads and along beaches as part of their training. We were taken to meet Kokuhō, whose proud owner spends from 5pm-8pm daily with him — feeding, exercising and even massaging his giant pet. When I asked more about tōgyū at the Tourist Information Office, the manager swiftly brought out his smartphone to show us photos of his two bulls. Okinoerabujima Next island down the line, Okinoerabujima is a raised coral atoll, about 20km long, with a population of 14,000 people. Its main industry is agriculture, and it was potato and sugar cane harvesting season when we turned up. There aren't enough hands available during harvesting season and a number of young Japanese show up from around the country to help. A young guy running a bar in Wadomari, the main port, told us he originally came from Osaka five years ago to help with the potato harvest and never left. You'll also want to rent some wheels on Okinoerabujima to see the sights. Some 200 limestone caves are dotted around the island, the easiest to visit being Shōryūdō, with 600m of the 3.5km-long cave system open to visitors. It takes about 30 minutes to walk through these truly remarkable caverns. The island is also renowned for the Erabu lily. The large, white trumpet-shaped lilies bloom in April and May and were just coming into bloom when we were there. Bulbs are cultivated and sent to the Japanese mainland as a major earner for the island. They have also been exported overseas, due to being introduced to Europe through World Expos from 1870 onwards, to become known as "Easter lilies", their white petals being a symbol of purity for Christian events around the globe. Yoron-tō My favourite island, though, was the speck that is Yoron-tō, home to 6000 people. This raised coral island, surrounded by reef, is home to some 60 magnificent beaches, with Yurigahama, a sandy islet that appears at low tide, being Yoron-tō's renowned highlight. Only 23km in circumference, this is an island to ride around on a bike. Rentals are readily available. Kiwis will be surprised to find the island's museum and information building is called the Southern Cross Centre. Did you know that the Southern Cross could be seen in the northern hemisphere? At 27° 22' north of the equator, Yoron-tō is the most northerly point in Japan from which you can view the Southern Cross, though the guy in the museum admitted it was hard to spot, more or less right on the horizon. I was overjoyed to hear something that has largely disappeared from most parts of regional Japan. At noon, loudspeakers around the island cranked up with tropical Yoron island music, then announced to everyone working in their fields that it was lunchtime. At 5pm, the music was followed by an announcement thanking everyone for their hard work, saying that it was time to go home, and telling workers to be careful of children playing — and not to drink and drive! Our island-hopping adventure through the Amami Islands happened all too fast and suddenly it was time to hop on the ferry to the final stop and one of my favourite cities, vibrant Naha, the capital of Okinawa. I've flown there many times, but this time, it was about the journey, not the destination. — Craig McLachlan is a Queenstown-based "freelance anything" who has been writing Lonely Planet guidebooks for over 25 years.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Interpreter who stole millions from Shohei Ohtani faces prison at sentencing
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, is scheduled to appear in federal court Thursday afternoon in Orange County to be sentenced for stealing nearly $17 million from the Japanese baseball player to cover debts. Mizuhara previously pleaded guilty in June to bank and tax fraud. Prosecutors have asked for a nearly five-year sentence; Mizuhara requested a year and a half. The sentencing will bring to a close a scandal that rocked the sports world last March, when the Dodgers fired Mizuhara amid an investigation into claims he had secretly gambled away Ohtani's money. Mizuhara admitted to spending the money on bets with an illegal bookmaker, accruing large debts while also buying $325,000 worth of baseball cards and undergoing costly dental work. Prosecutors want Mizuhara to pay close to $17 million in restitution to Ohtani and a little more than $1 million to the IRS. Read more: The mysterious life — and questionable claims — of Shohei Ohtani's interpreter As part of his job as translator and de facto manager of Ohtani, Mizuhara served as a go-between between the player and his non-Japanese-speaking agents and financial advisors, according to Mizuhara's plea agreement. Prosecutors in their sentencing memo said Mizuhara's conduct harmed Ohtani's reputation and goodwill. Prosecutors wrote that even though there was "overwhelming evidence that showed that Mr. Ohtani had no knowledge" of Mizuhara's activities, "several public figures continued to question how Mr. Ohtani did not notice that this one particular account was being mismanaged." "Let there be no doubt, Mr. Ohtani is truly a victim and has suffered, and will continue to suffer, harm," the sentencing memo said. In a letter to the judge ahead of sentencing, Mizuhara said he'd put his "heart and soul" into his work, taking on the role of driver, trainer, chef, off the field interpreter and support member for Ohtani over the years. But he also seemed to drag his former boss, writing that Ohtani paid him roughly $11,000 per year, which left him living "paycheck to paycheck." Mizuhara was an employee of the Los Angeles Angels MLB team, for whom Ohtani played from 2018-23, and, later, the Dodgers, for whom Ohtani has played since 2024. Ohtani paid him separately for the additional work, according to the Department of Justice. Mizuhara claimed to have had numerous offers to write books, do TV and radio interviews and appear in commercials, but said those were "shut down from Shohei and his company in Japan." Desperate for money, Mizuhara wrote, he began sports betting in an attempt to help himself financially. "And before I knew it, the results were the complete opposite," his letter stated. "My gambling debt had grown so much that I could not find any way to pay it but to use Shohei's money." Mizuhara's lawyer, Michael G. Freedman, said in his sentencing memo that his client's "longstanding gambling addiction… was uniquely exacerbated by his grueling work and exposure to high-stakes bookmakers in the world of professional athletes." Read more: Why feds say Shohei Ohtani is a 'victim': Interpreter allegedly paid gambling debts pretending to be Dodger Because Mizuhara is not a U.S. citizen, "it is virtually certain he will be deported to Japan following his incarceration," Freedman wrote. Mizuhara admitted he obtained the login details for Ohtani's bank account in 2018, when he translated for the baseball phenom as he set up an account at a bank branch in Phoenix. Mizuhara started making illegal bets with an Orange County bookie in September 2021, before later falling deeply into debt, according to the agreement. According to the plea agreement, Mizuhara used Ohtani's password to sign into the bank account and then changed the registered email address and telephone number so bank employees would call Mizuhara, not Ohtani, to verify wire transfers from the account. Mizuhara called the bank and impersonated Ohtani about two dozen times, according to the plea agreement. The interpreter made a number of sizable wire transfers, prosecutors said, including one for $500,000 to an associate of the bookmaker. Prosecutors said that Mizuhara used Ohtani's money to purchase baseball cards between January and March 2024, hoping to later sell them for profit. In a response to Mizuhara's sentencing memo, prosecutors told the judge there was no evidence of gambling addiction, "other than [Mizuhara's] self-serving and uncorroborated statements to the psychologist he hired for purposes of sentencing." Read more: Ippei Mizuhara, ex-interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, pleads guilty to fraud in betting case Prosecutors said the government looked at more than 30 casinos around the U.S. and only found evidence of Mizuhara spending $200 at the Mirage casino during a weekend in 2008. They found that Mizuhara had registered for FanDual in 2018 but never placed a bet. He only began betting online with DraftKings in 2023, prosecutors said, after already having stolen millions of dollars from Mr. Ohtani. They also pushed back on his claims of living "paycheck to paycheck," pointing out the $250,000 salary Mizuhara earned in 2023 while stealing millions of dollars and also the $85,000 he made in 2022. Prosecutors said Mizuhara had no loans, car payments or rent expenses. He'd used Ohtani's debit card to pay his rent and Ohtani gave him a Porsche to drive, they said. Mizuhara's checking account in March 2023 had a balance of $30,236 and $195,113 in March 2024, according to prosecutors. "Here, there is no doubt defendant feels ashamed from the international attention he received from his fraud scheme and web of lies, but instead of showing true remorse defendant appears to try to justify stealing millions of dollars from Mr. Ohtani," prosecutors wrote. "Instead of using this opportunity to apologize and show true remorse, he has used it, in a public filing, to complain about his work and Mr. Ohtani." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
06-02-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Interpreter who stole millions from Shohei Ohtani faces prison at sentencing
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, is scheduled to appear in federal court Thursday afternoon in Orange County to be sentenced for stealing nearly $17 million from the Japanese baseball player to cover debts. Mizuhara previously pleaded guilty in June to bank and tax fraud. Prosecutors have asked for a nearly five-year sentence; Mizuhara requested a year and a half. The sentencing will bring to a close a scandal that rocked the sports world last March, when the Dodgers fired Mizuhara amid an investigation into claims he had secretly gambled away Ohtani's money. Mizuhara admitted to spending the money on bets with an illegal bookmaker, accruing large debts while also buying $325,000 worth of baseball cards and undergoing costly dental work. Prosecutors want Mizuhara to pay close to $17 million in restitution to Ohtani and a little more than $1 million to the IRS. As part of his job as translator and de facto manager of Ohtani, Mizuhara served as a go-between between the player and his non-Japanese-speaking agents and financial advisors, according to Mizuhara's plea agreement. Prosecutors in their sentencing memo said Mizuhara's conduct harmed Ohtani's reputation and goodwill. Prosecutors wrote that even though there was 'overwhelming evidence that showed that Mr. Ohtani had no knowledge' of Mizuhara's activities, 'several public figures continued to question how Mr. Ohtani did not notice that this one particular account was being mismanaged.' 'Let there be no doubt, Mr. Ohtani is truly a victim and has suffered, and will continue to suffer, harm,' the sentencing memo said. In a letter to the judge ahead of sentencing, Mizuhara said he'd put his 'heart and soul' into his work, taking on the role of driver, trainer, chef, off the field interpreter and support member for Ohtani over the years. But he also seemed to drag his former boss, writing that Ohtani paid him roughly $11,000 per year, which left him living 'paycheck to paycheck.' Mizuhara was an employee of the Los Angeles Angels MLB team, for whom Ohtani played from 2018-23, and, later, the Dodgers, for whom Ohtani has played since 2024. Ohtani paid him separately for the additional work, according to the Department of Justice. Mizuhara claimed to have had numerous offers to write books, do TV and radio interviews and appear in commercials, but said those were 'shut down from Shohei and his company in Japan.' Desperate for money, Mizuhara wrote, he began sports betting in an attempt to help himself financially. 'And before I knew it, the results were the complete opposite,' his letter stated. 'My gambling debt had grown so much that I could not find any way to pay it but to use Shohei's money.' Mizuhara's lawyer, Michael G. Freedman, said in his sentencing memo that his client's 'longstanding gambling addiction… was uniquely exacerbated by his grueling work and exposure to high-stakes bookmakers in the world of professional athletes.' Because Mizuhara is not a U.S. citizen, 'it is virtually certain he will be deported to Japan following his incarceration,' Freedman wrote. Mizuhara admitted he obtained the login details for Ohtani's bank account in 2018, when he translated for the baseball phenom as he set up an account at a bank branch in Phoenix. Mizuhara started making illegal bets with an Orange County bookie in September 2021, before later falling deeply into debt, according to the agreement. According to the plea agreement, Mizuhara used Ohtani's password to sign into the bank account and then changed the registered email address and telephone number so bank employees would call Mizuhara, not Ohtani, to verify wire transfers from the account. Mizuhara called the bank and impersonated Ohtani about two dozen times, according to the plea agreement. The interpreter made a number of sizable wire transfers, prosecutors said, including one for $500,000 to an associate of the bookmaker. Prosecutors said that Mizuhara used Ohtani's money to purchase baseball cards between January and March 2024, hoping to later sell them for profit. In a response to Mizuhara's sentencing memo, prosecutors told the judge there was no evidence of gambling addiction, 'other than [Mizuhara's] self-serving and uncorroborated statements to the psychologist he hired for purposes of sentencing.' Prosecutors said the government looked at more than 30 casinos around the U.S. and only found evidence of Mizuhara spending $200 at the Mirage casino during a weekend in 2008. They found that Mizuhara had registered for FanDual in 2018 but never placed a bet. He only began betting online with DraftKings in 2023, prosecutors said, after already having stolen millions of dollars from Mr. Ohtani. They also pushed back on his claims of living 'paycheck to paycheck,' pointing out the $250,000 salary Mizuhara earned in 2023 while stealing millions of dollars and also the $85,000 he made in 2022. Prosecutors said Mizuhara had no loans, car payments or rent expenses. He'd used Ohtani's debit card to pay his rent and Ohtani gave him a Porsche to drive, they said. Mizuhara's checking account in March 2023 had a balance of $30,236 and $195,113 in March 2024, according to prosecutors. 'Here, there is no doubt defendant feels ashamed from the international attention he received from his fraud scheme and web of lies, but instead of showing true remorse defendant appears to try to justify stealing millions of dollars from Mr. Ohtani,' prosecutors wrote. 'Instead of using this opportunity to apologize and show true remorse, he has used it, in a public filing, to complain about his work and Mr. Ohtani.'
