Aaaah... but that entirely is the key. For the fact that he's playing "in Japan" means that we know what we're getting (YC: with all his glory and warts!), whereas for an "evil foreigner" - we simply rely on promises.
So the key point in it's entirety is that YC "plays-in-Japan". And I suspect that this is precisely why he will win.
http://with-malice.com/ - The half-crazed ramblings of a Lakers fanatic in Japan