By SEIYA HARA/ Staff Writer
March 5, 2024 at 17:05 JST
Children on March 4 are ecstatic to receive gloves donated by Shohei Ohtani during P.E. class at Machino Elementary School in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, one of the hardest-hit areas by the Noto Peninsula earthquake. The school’s gymnasium is being used as an evacuation shelter. (Shinnosuke Ito)
WAJIMA, Ishikawa Prefecture—Gifts from Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani were a big hit with children affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake here, bringing delighted smiles to their faces.
On March 4, all nine elementary schools in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, showed off the baseball gloves Ohtani donated to them.
The gloves were unveiled at Machino Elementary School, which served as an evacuation shelter, on the day.
There were 44 students attending the school before the disaster, but only seven were able to attend the unveiling event as many have evacuated from the city.
The lucky seven did not waste time in breaking in the gifts from Ohtani, playing catch with each other and teachers.
Hitoiro Nishino, 10, a fourth-grader, said the gloves “give me energy and courage.
“I’m happy,” Nishino added.
Miu Hosoya, 12, has been staying at an evacuation shelter near the school with her family.
“It’s been tough,” the sixth-grader said.
But the gloves “made me happy and feel better,” she said. “I’ll soon be a junior high school student, so I want to do my best in my studies.”
Approximately 30 people are still taking refuge in the school’s gymnasium.
A woman in her 60s said: “The children’s laughter and smiles are the best thing of all. I’m glad they hosted (the unveiling event) here.”
Ohtani has given gloves to elementary schools across Japan.
They were originally scheduled to be presented to the children at the "shigyo-shiki" opening ceremonies at all nine elementary schools in Wajima in January, but the presentations were postponed due to the earthquake.
Three gloves for each school arrived at the city’s board of education at the end of last year, the board said.
They were distributed to each school a few days ago.
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