Ichiro, Sasaki end ban on Japanese media

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Originally published July 18

SEATTLE -- Ichiro Suzuki and Kazuhiro Sasaki of the Seattle Mariners are talking to reporters from Japan again.

The AL All-Stars, key factors in the Mariners' 67-26 start, lifted their vows of silence after Monday night's 5-3 loss to Arizona.

"It's not that we forgave them," Sasaki said Tuesday. "We just thought that not talking wasn't going to solve any problems. We still want to make sure we have our privacy."

Suzuki, rookie right fielder for the Mariners, and Sasaki, Seattle's second-year closer, quit talking to the Japanese media Thursday night because paparazzi from Japan have been going to their residences in the Seattle area.

Despite the ban, the Japanese paparazzi kept coming to their homes, Sasaki said.

"Two days ago, a man came to my apartment complex, which has tight security," Sasaki said. "He offered the manager a $500 bribe if he would let him into my apartment. Another guy came to my apartment complex and said he was my guest and wanted to get into where I live."

Both were Japanese men, Sasaki said.

Sasaki apologized to the Japanese media who are covering the Mariners after Thursday night's game.

About 20 to 30 media from Japan cover the Mariners on a regular basis.

"It's a privacy issue," Sasaki said. "That's all it is."

Sasaki, 33, and Suzuki, 27, came to the United States to play in the major leagues partially because of Japanese paparazzi, Sasaki said.

"There's a lot of paparazzi in Japan," he said. "That's one of the things that attracted us to America. We thought they didn't have paparazzi here. That was one of the good things about America. Well, the Japanese paparazzi followed us to America."

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