BASEBALL / Taiwan congratulates Japanese baseball legend with ROC roots on major honor

Taipei, Nov. 7 (CNA) The Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) has congratulated baseball legend Sadaharu Oh, a citizen of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan's official name), on receiving Japan's prestigious Order of Culture at the age of 85.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito presented Oh with the honor on Monday, making him only the second baseball player to receive the award.

Oh, whose Chinese name is Wang Chen-chih (王貞治), was recognized for his outstanding contributions to sports development over his illustrious career.

In a statement released Friday, CTBA Chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr. (辜仲諒) congratulated Oh and said he had invited the legend to visit Taiwan at the end of February 2026 with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks for exhibition games that will serve as warm-ups for the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC).

Oh currently serves as chairman of the Hawks.

Koo not only invited Oh to join his team in Taiwan but also to hold special coaching sessions with Taiwan's team ahead of the WBC, which Oh apparently accepted as long as his health permits, the CTBA said.

The world career home run record holder with 868, Oh is the fourth Japanese athlete and the second baseball player to receive the Order of Culture since its establishment in 1937.

Oh was born in Japan in 1940 to a Japanese mother and Chinese father, nine years prior to the Republic of China (ROC) government relocating to Taiwan after its defeat in a civil war against communist rebels on the Chinese mainland.

His father registered all his children as ROC nationals. Oh has continued to hold an ROC passport despite having lived in Japan all his life, turning down multiple opportunities to become a naturalized Japanese citizen.