‘Come to the U.S. to watch games’: Cubs’ Imanaga touts new entry system for Japanese citizens

TOKYO — Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga on Dec. 9 publicized a new, streamlined U.S. entry system for Japanese citizens, urging baseball fans to come to the United States to attend major league games .

This system, called the Global Entry program, simplifies entry procedures at U.S. borders for Americans and citizens of other countries with which the United States has agreements. The United States announced on November 27, Japan time, that the country had become a new eligible nation.

“I hope Japanese baseball fans will come to the United States to watch games using this system and liven up baseball,” Imanaga said.

Imanaga, who began playing for the Cubs in 2024, made the comments during an event at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on December 9. Rahm Emanuel, the US ambassador to Japan, presented him with an oversized sample Global Entry card, as Imanaga is now eligible for the program.

According to US border control authorities, Japan is the 18th country to benefit from the program. In Japanese professional baseball, 18 is an iconic number for top players, and Imanaga also wears it with the Cubs. Ambassador Emanuel pointed out that there were other Japanese players in Major League Baseball, including Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who also wore number 18 and said it was a symbolic number for the country.

(Japanese original by Hitoshi Omae, Foreign News Department)