Hiroshima releases four players amid illegal etomidate case

Hiroshima announced on October 1 that it would release four players: infielders Kaito Kozono, Masaya Yano and Seita Maekawa, and outfielder Shunsuke Tamura.

Reports linked Kozono, Yano and Tamura to a seller of etomidate, an illegal drug known in Japan as “zombie tobacco.”

Yano and Maekawa were referred to prosecutors in September on suspicion of violating a law on medicines and medical devices.

The case follows the arrest of former Hiroshima player Ryutaro Hatsuki in January for allegedly using etomidate; he was later indicted on the same charge.

The releases come amid a series of upheavals for the team.

The story raises the possibility that teams in Japan’s Pacific League could offer Kozono or Yano another opportunity, but it gives no outcome or next step.