Isao Harimoto, Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor and Japanese baseball's 3,000-hit record holder, dies at 86

Harimoto's death and immediate response

Isao Harimoto, the Korean-Japanese baseball legend who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as a child, died in Tokyo at the age of 86, BBC Sport reported on Wednesday. The 18-time All-Star, born Jang Hun in Hiroshima in 1940 to Korean parents who had migrated to Japan during the country's rule of Korea, had lived his entire life in Japan and adopted a Japanese name. The Golden Players Club — one of Japanese baseball's two halls of fame — issued a statement expressing "deep respect and gratitude" and offering condolences on his passing.

Career milestones in Japanese baseball

Harimoto remains the only player in Nippon Professional Baseball history to reach 3,000 hits, finishing with 3,085 hits across a 23-season career that stretched from 1959 to 1981. He also hit 504 home runs and stole 319 bases, making him the only NPB player to combine at least 500 homers and 300 stolen bases. According to BBC Sport, only three Major League Baseball players — Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez — have reached the same three thresholds. Gamereactor noted he is seventh on the all-time NPB home run list. Harimoto won seven batting titles, including four straight from 1967 to 1970, a run matched decades later by Ichiro Suzuki, and helped the Toei Flyers capture their first Japan Series in 1962 before later playing for the Yomiuri Giants and the Lotte Orions.

Surviving the bombing and overcoming injury

Harimoto was five years old on August 6, 1945, when the United States detonated an atomic bomb over Hiroshima in the final days of World War Two. In a 2011 recollection, he said his mother shielded him and one sister with her body after the flash; another sister did not survive. A year before the bombing, a childhood accident left him with severe burns on his right hand, freezing his middle three fingers into a curled position and limiting mobility in his thumb and forefinger. He switched to throwing and batting left-handed and wore a custom glove on his curled right hand to catch the ball.

Recognition and post-playing career

Harimoto was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990 and helped launch South Korea's KBO League in 1982, the year after his retirement from a 2,752-game playing career. After retiring, he moved into baseball commentary and punditry.