SUMMARY
- Shohei Ohtani recently announced his marriage to a "normal Japanese woman".
- Ohtani refrained from providing details about his marriage.
An elite two-way baseball player Shohei Ohtani recently announced his marriage. Ohtani, aka “Shotime”, has kept his personal life extremely private. His marriage announcement also left out several details.
The Japanese baseball star currently represents the Los Angeles Dodgers in Major League Baseball (MLB). He began his baseball career with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan. Later, he joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2017. After impressing in the league becoming a 3x All-Star and 2x AL MVP Ohtani shot to fame due to his next contract.
He signed a 10-year $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2023. It is the largest contract in professional sports history. Moreover, at the moment Ohtani will be earning $2 million annually for 10 years, according to a report by The Athletic. He will earn the rest of the $680 million between 2034 to 2043. This will help facilitate spending for the Dodgers. As of December 2023, his net worth is said to be around $50 million.
However, with his latest marriage announcement, fans have been speculating how much of his property could land in his wife’s hand if they ever get a divorce. Considering that marriage and divorce are followed through Japanese law as both Ohtani and his wife are Japanese, let’s see the several possibilities that can come up under Japanese law.
Shohei Ohtani could lose 50% of his $700 million contract if he got married before he signed for Dodgers
Ohtani reportedly signed the contract in December 2023. His marriage date, however, is unknown. In a short interview after announcing his marriage, he claimed he is uncomfortable talking about the details. he said his wife is a “normal Japanese woman” but he did not want to mention the exact date of their marriage.
The exact date of the marriage could matter under the Japanese Civil Code. Under Article 762 of the Japanese Civil Code, “Property belonging to either a husband or wife from a time prior to the marriage” is considered “separate property”. This property is not up for division when the division of assets takes place during divorce.
Ohtani can register his $700 million contract in his name to avoid division
Another provision in the same article states that property acquired after marriage could be kept as “separate property”. If Ohtani did in fact marry before he signed the contract. He can keep his contract in his own name and not put it up for the division of assets in case of divorce.
However, Article 768 claims that “Husband or wife who has effected divorce by agreement may demand the distribution of property from the other spouse.”
Although an agreement doesn’t need to take place always. Therefore, in such a case, “any of the parties may apply to the Family Court for measures to take the place of such agreement.”
There could be further complications of law in exceptional cases. On the other hand, we wish Ohtani and his wife a happy married life and hope they do not have to go through any divorce settlements.
