He incorporated Japanese strategies into his coaching, which was dubbed “smartball” or “brainball” by the media, due to its reliance on speed and defense as opposed to power and heavy hitting.

[5] While players were praised in the media, they experienced racism in their everyday lives including limited employment opportunities and segregation in places like movie theatres.

[6] The success of the Asahi, in spite of these hardships, made the team a symbol of Japanese Canadian perseverance and cultural participation.

The team helped to mediate the relationship between Japanese Canadians and the white community by creating a common interest that brought the two together.

[4] During a time of prominent racial discrimination, Oppenheimer Park became a place where barriers fell as the Asahi and Occidental fans would support one another.

[4] After the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Canada invoked the 1914 War Measures Act and all Canadians of Japanese descent were registered as ‘enemy aliens’ and forcibly moved in internment camps.

[12] In December 2014, a Japanese studio released a period drama movie called The Vancouver Asahi starring Satoshi Tsumabuki and Kazuya Kamenashi.

On February 19, 2019, a Heritage Minute was released, depicting an Asahi baseball game and the subsequent internment of a player alongside other Japanese Canadians.

The short segment was narrated by the last surviving member of the team, Koichi Kaye Kaminishi, and novelist Joy Kogawa.

He was a fan favourite due to his prolific base stealing and defensive ability, which earned him the nickname "the dancing shortstop".