The Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani is Japan's most popular athlete, according to the results of a survey released Friday.
Ohtani, who has thrived as both a pitcher and batter in the major leagues after leaving the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, was the No. 1 pick of respondents from all generations. The 23-year-old topped the survey for the first time after ranking sixth in last year's results.
Ichiro Suzuki, who currently serves as a special assistant to the chairman of the Seattle Mariners, was the second most popular athlete. The 44-year-old held the top spot for two consecutive years until last year.
Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu placed third, up from fifth in the previous year's survey. The 23-year-old skater won consecutive men's gold medals at the 2014 Sochi Games in Russia and 2018 Pyeongchang Games in South Korea.
A total of 1,207 people nationwide aged 20 or older submitted valid responses to the survey, which was conducted by Tokyo-based analytic firm Central Research Services Inc. in April.
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