Japanese baseball legend Isao Harimoto, who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, has died in Tokyo at the age of 86. Known as the "Hit Machine," Harimoto holds the record for the most hits in Japanese baseball history, with 3,085 hits across his 23-season career. He is the only player in the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB) to reach 3,000 hits. Harimoto also hit 504 home runs and stole 319 bases, making him the only NPB player with at least 500 home runs and 300 stolen bases. Only three players in Major League Baseball history have achieved this combination: Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, and Alex Rodriguez. Harimoto was an 18-time all-star player who helped the Toei Flyers win their first Japan Series in 1962. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. The Golden Players Club, one of the two official halls of fame in Japanese baseball, expressed its respect for Harimoto, saying, "All members of the Meikyukai express our deep respect and gratitude for Mr. Isao Harimoto's many years of great achievements, and we sincerely pray for [following] his passing." Harimoto, born Jang Hun, overcame significant obstacles to achieve greatness. He was born in Hiroshima in 1940 to Korean parents who had migrated to Japan during Japan's colonial rule over Korea. Though he lived in Japan his entire life and adopted a Japanese name, he did not receive Japanese citizenship until later in life. As a young child, he suffered severe burns on his right hand in an accident, which left him with limited mobility in his thumb and forefinger and his middle three fingers permanently curled. This forced him to become a left-handed thrower and hitter. He wore a custom glove on his curled right hand to catch the ball, but this injury could have easily prevented him from ever playing baseball. Harimoto was in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city during the final days of World War II. He was five years old at the time and survived unharmed, thanks to his mother shielding him and his sister from the blast. Another sister did not survive. Despite these early hardships, Harimoto went on to have a legendary career, joining the Toei Flyers in 1959 and playing for them for 16 years before later representing the Yomiuri Giants and the Lotte Orions. He won seven batting titles, including four in a row from 1967 to 1970, a feat later matched by Ichiro Suzuki. He retired in 1981 after playing 2,752 games. After retiring, Harimoto helped launch South Korea's KBO baseball league in 1982 before transitioning into a career in baseball commentary and punditry.