Hotaka Yamakawa


Hotaka Yamakawa is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball. He has previously played in NPB for the Saitama Seibu Lions. Yamakawa led the Pacific League in home runs in,,, and.
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Career

He was selected for the Pacific League all star team for the . On October 10, 2018, he was selected by the Japan national baseball team to play for them at the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series. He was also selected by Samurai Japan to play for them during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, winning gold with them.
Yamakawa batted 5-for-13 with three home runs, seven RBIs, and six walks for the 2025 Japan Series. He won the Japan Series Most Valuable Player Award. His three home runs came in three consecutive games, tying the Japan Series record.

Sexual assault allegations

On May 11, 2023, it was reported from Bunshun Online that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department was investigating Yamakawa for sexually assaulting a female acquaintance at a hotel in Tokyo in November 2022. Bunshun Online reported that said female acquaintance had suffered bleeding injuries from the vagina and other parts of the body, and that the police had received a damage report on suspicion of indecent assault and rape. However, Yamakawa stated that all was consensual and he had relations with the woman. In response to this, on May 12, the Lions removed Yamakawa from their active roster indefinitely. On May 29, it was announced that Yamakawa would not face charges as a result of the allegations.