TOKYO, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Baseball player Ichiro Suzuki has declined the Japanese government's offer of a major award after he broke the Major League record for most hits in a season.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Friday that the Japanese government recently approached the 30-year-old slugger of the Seattle Mariners, offering him the "People's Honor Award," the Mainichi Shimbun reported.
But according to Hosoda, Suzuki declined the offer. "I am still in the middle of my development," Ichiro was quoted as telling the government through his agent. "If I am honored by the government, I am afraid that my motivation (for baseball) may decrease."
Hosoda has not given up, though. "I believe he isn't necessarily bent on declining the award forever," the paper quoted him as saying.
