Shohei Ohtani, a Japanese MLB player, is featured in a Bandai gashapon set releasing in July 2026 and was named to the TIME100 Sports 2026 list in June 2026.
Shohei Ohtani appears in two recent Yomimono stories that highlight his prominence as a Japanese MLB player. In June 2026, Time magazine named him to the TIME100 Sports 2026 list in the Icons category, alongside Lionel Messi, LeBron James, and esports player Faker. The selection places Ohtani among top global sports figures, though the story focuses on Faker's inclusion as a milestone for esports.
In July 2026, Bandai announced a gashapon set called 'MLB TM Capsule Torso Players Edition' featuring six Japanese MLB players, including Ohtani. The set includes Munetaka Murakami, Kodai Senga, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Seiya Suzuki, and Lars Nootbaar. The capsule figures are scheduled for release in the third week of July 2026 at 500 yen each. The two stories together show Ohtani's continued visibility both in mainstream sports culture and in merchandise aimed at fans of Japanese baseball talent.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every fact links the story it came from.
Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/shohei-ohtani.
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Bandai is releasing a new gashapon set called 'MLB TM Capsule Torso Players Edition' featuring Japanese players active in MLB, including Shohei Ohtani, Munetaka Murakami, Kodai Senga, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Seiya Suzuki, and Lars Nootbaar. The six-figure lineup will be available in the third week of July 2026 at 500 yen each.
Lee Sang-hyeok, known as Faker, the T1 'League of Legends' player, has been selected for TIME100 Sports 2026 in the Icons category, alongside Lionel Messi, Shohei Ohtani, and LeBron James. Time introduced him as 'widely regarded as the best esports player of all time,' citing his six world championship titles and his role as a symbol of esports industry growth.