"Straight Talk" is a regular feature in which The Sporting Tribune's John E. Gibson offers a full translation of media availability with Dodgers Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. He will also help translate when Lakers star Rui Hachimura and LA Galaxy captain Maya Yoshida are asked questions in Japanese.
The job of interpreters in the heat of the moment is difficult without the ability to write down questions and answers and re-hear responses for proper context. That's where John comes in to help.
John currently works as a Japanese-English interpreter and covered pro baseball in Japan for about 20 years. His experience as a sports reporter includes stints at The Orange County Register, The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, The Redlands Daily Facts, The Yomiuri Shimbun’s English newspaper in Tokyo and The Epoch Times.
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers’ Rui Hachimura answers a question in Japanese after the 6-foot-8 forward surpassed 5,000 career points by scoring 14 on Tuesday night as L.A. topped the Cleveland Cavaliers 127-113 at Crypto.com Arena. The question in Japanese is at the six minute mark.
Q: Nice game. Today you reached 5,000 in career points. Looking back on your career so far, how do see hitting 5,000 points?
Hachimura: Well, even for me, looking back at the season and the journey up to now, I had no idea I’d be able to reach this point. I’m just appreciative of the fact that I’ve made it this far. And who knows if scoring 5,000 points is a lot or not, but teammates celebrated it, so I just want to continue to do my best going forward.