Junior High English Textbook Referencing Mizuhara Replaced; Disgraced Interpreter Swapped Out For National Soccer Team Chef

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:22 JST, June 21, 2024

An English textbook featuring Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, was replaced with one featuring a different person, its publisher announced Thursday.

The book will be used in junior high schools from the 2025 academic year.

The replacement was in response to Mizuhara’s illegal gambling scandal, according to the publisher Kyoiku-Shuppan Co. “We decided that [Mizuhara] was inappropriate as a subject for a textbook as it might distract students,” a company official said.

Mizuhara was featured in a conversational text on the theme of “People Who Support Success.” The text states that Mizuhara “helps Ohtani fit in with the team and supports his private life,” alongside a photo of him and Ohtani together.

In the revised version, Mizuhara is replaced by Yoshiteru Nishi, the exclusive chef for Japan’s national men’s soccer team, Samurai Blue, who is featured for supporting the players’ physical and mental well-being through food.

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry announced the results of its textbook screenings on March 22, giving an OK to the company’s textbook carrying Mizuhara. In response to his dismissal from the baseball team, however, Kyoiku-Shuppan submitted the revision on June 3 to the ministry for approval, which was granted.