Wouldn't that be a major reason WHY they would do it? This might have been mentioned before, but does the team get to use some of that money towards player acquisitions? Historically, teams in Japan have been viewed and used as marketing vehicles for their parent organizations. Although this is starting to change somewhat, I suspect most of the posting fee would go directly to Nippon Meat Packers, Inc. I'm not sure how that would make a huge posting fee less attractive. His father is Iranian and I suspect our current foreign policy in the Middle East makes him feel uncomfortable.