Japan celebrates as Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto win World Series with Dodgers

TOKYO (AP) — The World Series trophy is headed to Los Angeles, but there's a hearty celebration going on across the Pacific Ocean in Japan, too.

People milled around the edge of the Ginza shopping area in central Tokyo on Thursday afternoon as single-sheet, special newspaper editions rolled off the presses, proclaiming Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as world champions along with their Dodgers teammates after a stirring Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees.

The headline in Japanese in the Sports Nippon newspaper, set in yellow and blue type — with red highlights — read: “No. 1 in The World. Ohtani beats the Yankees.”

“I want to thank my Japanese fans for coming all the way to cheer me this season," Ohtani said on Japanese television. "That cheering gave me some energy so I’m glad I could return the gratitude my winning.”

The newspaper handouts are a Tokyo tradition when Japan celebrates a big event. And it was a scramble, as usual, with men and women — young and old —sprinting up and down the sidewalk to get their free collector's items.

The Yomiuri Shimbun headline read: “Dodgers No. 1; Ohtani, Yamamoto in first season.”

Yasuko Shibata, an 80-year-old woman who said she faithfully watches Ohtani's games, said she admired “Ohtani's personality.” Not to mention his great play.

“His presence is huge,” she said. "He is a source of my energy. When he doesn’t do well, I also feel blue”

Another fan echoed her thoughts, standing near the Ginza underground entrance.

“He is the pride of Japan,” said Hideki Shinohara, who called himself a hardcore fan. “You cannot describe him with just ‘amazing.’ You need to invent a new word.”

Shinohara added: "He went through many things this year, and I didn’t expect him to come all this way. I am very pleased with what he has achieved. ”

The Japanese pride in Ohtani is a huge one for a country whose players were once considered too small, or only good pitchers. Now, there is strong pride in the fact that their players are among the best in the game.

Japan defeated the United States in the World Baseball Classic final last year in Miami, another sign of the country's prowess in the American pastime.

It was also a victory for Ohtani's hometown in northern Japan — Oshu City — where fans have been gathering all week and anticipating their superstar hero would help deliver the title.

About 38,000 special edition newspapers were also published in Iwate Prefecture, the northern area where Oshu City is located.

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A staff member distributes an extra edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper in Tokyo, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' victory in the World Series baseball match after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 in New York. The headline of the newspaper said "Dodgers is No. 1 in the World." (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A staff member, left, distributes copies of an extra edition of the Sports Nippon newspaper in Tokyo, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' victory in the World Series baseball match after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 in New York. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Staff members distribute copies of an extra edition of the Sports Nippon newspaper in Tokyo, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' victory in the World Series baseball match after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 in New York. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Bystanders receive copies of extra editions of the Yomiuri Shimbun and the Sports Nippon newspapers in Tokyo, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' victory in the World Series baseball match against the New York Yankees in Game 5 in New York. The headline of the Yomiuri newspaper said "Dodgers is No. 1 in the World." (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A passerby holds a copy of an extra edition of the Sports Nippon newspaper in Tokyo, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' victory in the World Series baseball match after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 in New York. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Bystanders receive copies of an extra edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper in Tokyo, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' victory in the World Series baseball match against the New York Yankees in Game 5 in New York. The headline of the newspaper said "Dodgers is No. 1 in the World." (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A staff member distributes copies of an extra edition of the Sports Nippon newspaper in Tokyo, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' victory in the World Series baseball match after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 in New York. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A staff member distributes an extra edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper in Tokyo, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, reporting on the Los Angeles Dodgers' victory in the World Series baseball match after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 in New York. The headline of the newspaper said "Dodgers is No. 1 in the World." (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani celebrates in the locker room after their win against the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the baseball World Series, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani celebrates in the locker room after their win against the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the baseball World Series, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani celebrates after the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani celebrates their win against the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the baseball World Series, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani celebrates with the trophy after their win against the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the baseball World Series, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)