Japanese music icon Yoshiki to perform national anthem at Dodgers vs. Nationals showdown

Japanese music icon Yoshiki will take the center stage to perform a live piano rendition of the national anthem before the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals on April 16. The announcement was made on Tuesday, per Dodgers Nation.

Yoshiki, who is part of the “X Japan” and “The Last Rockstars" bands, will also be composing a song on the occasion of Hello Kitty's 50th anniversary, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

It doesn't come as a surprise that the Dodgers are celebrating Japanese artists, given that they have two of the best baseball stars from Japan. The Dodgers inked Shohei Ohtani (10 years, $700 million) and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12 years, $325 million) to long-term deals this offseason.

Both players existence in LA has propelled the Dodgers to the top of the most celebrated MLB teams in Japan.

Not long ago, Yamamoto's former teammates from the Orix Buffaloes posed in Dodgers jerseys to showcase their support, while Ohtani's introductory press conference was telecast on every TV station in Japan.

Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani hug in Dodgers' first faceoff with Angels this season

On Tuesday, 15 minutes before the first pitch, Shohei Ohtani ran to the outfield to greet Mike Trout with a warm hug ahead of the game between the Angels and the Dodgers. The duo chatted for a few minutes before heading for the dugout.

This was the first meeting between the two since Ohtani left the Angels in free agency.

“A lot of the boys were here today,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “So I got to catch up with most of them."

“I just congratulated him on everything and all the stuff that happened over the winter -- the marriage, the contract, just all the things that happened. We were friends, and he was a great teammate. And now we’re just on different teams," Trout said.

Ohtani mentioned that he is preparing himself for the Opening Day game against the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea. On the other hand, Trout will return to the plate after missing half of the 2023 season owing to injury.