# Ippei Mizuhara

Ippei Mizuhara (水原一平, Mizuhara Ippei, born December 31, 1984) is a Japanese interpreter. Mizuhara served as the interpreter for Major League Baseball player Shohei Ohtani, translating Japanese to English and vice versa for Ohtani's media appearances and teammate interactions. He previously worked for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as an interpreter for several of the team's Anglophone players.
Mizuhara had gained popularity among baseball fans for his close association with Ohtani. He frequently aided Ohtani in non-interpreting contexts, such as catching his bullpen sessions or throwing with him during pregame warmups. During the 2021 MLB Home Run Derby, Mizuhara served as Ohtani's catcher.
On March 20, 2024, the Dodgers fired Mizuhara after Ohtani's representatives accused him of "massive theft" of Ohtani's funds to repay debts owed to a bookmaker. He was charged by the US government for bank fraud and tax evasion. On June 4, Mizuhara pled guilty to those charges, and he was sentenced to 57 months in prison plus three years supervised release on February 6, 2025.

## Early life

Mizuhara was born on December 31, 1984, in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan. His father, Hidemasa, is a chef and the family moved to the Los Angeles area in 1991 so that he could work there. Mizuhara was raised in Diamond Bar, a city in eastern Los Angeles County. He grew up enjoying sports including soccer, baseball, and basketball. Mizuhara attended Chaparral Middle School located in Diamond Bar, and attended Diamond Bar High School. During his senior year in 2003, Ippei transferred from Diamond Bar High School to Del Paso High School, now known as Ron Hockwalt Academies due to his poor academic performances in order to receive a high school diploma. "RHA was established as Del Paso High School in 1971 to meet the needs of students who were experiencing difficulty at the traditional high school. These difficulties include attendance issues, poor credit attainment, or a variety of disciplinary concerns." Ippei wrote on his resume and profile that he graduated from University of California, Riverside in 2007, while he was in discussions regarding aspects of his position of translator for Ohtani upon Shohei's signing with the Los Angeles Angels. In March 2024, in the wake of Ippei's 2024 gambling controversy, the school told the media outlet NBC Los Angeles that "there are no records of him attending the school."

## Career

In 2013, Mizuhara was hired by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters to translate for Chris Martin and other English-speaking members of the team. He first met Shohei Ohtani while interpreting for the Fighters as the two both arrived in 2013.
When Ohtani was posted to MLB by the Fighters in 2017 and he signed with the Los Angeles Angels, the team hired Mizuhara to serve as Ohtani's personal interpreter. When Ohtani was a participant in the 2021 MLB Home Run Derby, Mizuhara was chosen as his catcher. He borrowed an extra set of equipment from Angels catcher Max Stassi and practiced with Angels infielder José Iglesias in preparation for the role. Mizuhara had also previously caught some of Ohtani's bullpen sessions. During the 2021–22 MLB lockout, Mizuhara temporarily resigned from his position with the Angels to circumvent rules against players and personnel being in contact in order to continue working with Ohtani. Mizuhara returned to his official position as an Angels employee after the lockout was lifted. Mizuhara remained Ohtani's interpreter after Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2023-24 offseason.
It was previously reported that Mizuhara worked as an interpreter for pitcher Hideki Okajima with the Boston Red Sox from 2007 to 2011. However in March 2024, the Red Sox declared that "Mizuhara was never employed by the Boston Red Sox in any capacity". Although there are many articles and reports from media outlets stating that Mizuhara falsely claimed to have worked for the Boston Red Sox as Hideki Okajima's interpreter, there exists zero evidence that Ippei was responsible for ever making those claims. Mizuhara actually was briefly employed as Hideki Okajima's interpreter, not with the Boston Red Sox, but with the New York Yankees after Okajima signed a minor league deal in 2011. Due to Hideki Okajima failing his physical for the Yankees before spring training, Mizuhara lost his opportunity to continue as Okajima's interpreter.

## Gambling and fraud

On March 20, 2024, the Dodgers fired Mizuhara. He was indebted to bookmaker Matthew Bowyer, who was under investigation by the federal government in Southern California. At least $4.5 million (approximately 680 million yen) had been transferred from Ohtani's bank account to associates of the bookmaker.
Mizuhara was in Seoul for the Dodgers' season-opening series against the Padres and was present for the first of the two games. Mizuhara admitted to having a gambling addiction in a speech to Dodgers players in the clubhouse following the March 19 game against the San Diego Padres. That evening, he told ESPN that Ohtani had transferred the funds to Bowyer instead of Mizuhara, as he did not trust Mizuhara to not "gamble it away". However, later that evening, Berk Brettler LLP, the law firm representing Ohtani, issued a statement saying that Ohtani was a victim of "massive theft" and that the matter had been referred to the authorities.
Following Mizuhara's dismissal, team staffer Will Ireton, who had been an interpreter when Kenta Maeda played for the Dodgers, took over as Ohtani's interpreter.
On April 11, 2024, the federal government charged Mizuhara with one count of bank fraud after determining that he had impersonated Ohtani in conversations with his bank and had stolen over $16 million. He turned himself in the following day and was released on $25,000 bond. On June 4, Mizuhara pled guilty to one charge of bank fraud, as well as one count of submitting a false tax return. His sentencing hearing, originally scheduled for October 25, was moved to December 20 at his request. It was subsequently moved to January 24, 2025. On February 6, he was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison and three years supervised release plus ordered to pay $17 million in restitution to Ohtani.

## Personal life

Mizuhara married in 2018, although he told the press in 2021 that he spent more time with Ohtani than his family.