TOKYO (AP) — Shinnosuke Abe has resigned as manager of Japan’s storied baseball team Yomiuri Giants after being arrested for the alleged assault of his teenage daughter.
The 47-year-old Abe, who was later released, apologized “for causing trouble because of my family matters” at a news conference on Tuesday where he announced he was stepping down as manager.
The Yomiuri newspaper, which owns the team, said Abe allegedly grabbed his 18-year-old daughter by the collar and threw her down to the floor as he tried to stop her fighting with her younger sister at home in Tokyo on Monday.
The daughter, whose name has not been released, then contacted a child guidance center after asking artificial intelligence app ChatGPT what to do, she said in a statement released Tuesday. To her surprise, she said, the child center reported the alleged incident to police and police showed up at their house hours later.
“I broke down in tears seeing my father apprehended,” she said.
She said she was not injured and that she and her father reconciled, so “please do not worry.”
Yomiuri said Abe admitted to the allegation against him and was quoted as saying that he lost his temper when he saw the two girls fighting.
Abe led the Central League in batting average and RBIs in 2012, and reached 2,000 career hits in 2017. He retired in 2019 and became team manager in 2024.
Offensive chief coach Hideki Hashigami has been appointed acting manager, the Giants said.