TAIPEI (Kyodo) -- Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Thursday bestowed one of the island's highest honors on Japan-born home run king Sadaharu Oh, recognizing his achievements and contributions to promoting baseball exchanges between the territory and Japan.

Oh, chairman of the SoftBank Hawks, received the Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon from Lai at his office in Taipei, where exhibition games between Taiwanese and Japanese baseball teams are underway ahead of the World Baseball Classic in March.

Lai said Oh is a shared source of pride for Taiwan and Japan, expressing hope that both teams will deliver their best performances and achieve top results in the WBC, according to a presidential office statement.

Oh expressed strong confidence in the island's roster for the WBC, calling it the "strongest team Taiwan has ever fielded." He also said Taiwan has the strength to advance alongside Japan to the final stages of the tournament in the United States.

With Lai's support, "both sides can work together to elevate Asian baseball to even greater heights," said the 85-year-old former Yomiuri Giants star, who slugged 868 home runs during his career.

Even though he was born in Japan and has lived all his life there, Oh holds citizenship of the Republic of China, Taiwan's official name since 1949, as his father hailed from the mainland when it was led by the Kuomintang government.

After losing a civil war, the then-ruling Kuomintang government retreated to Taiwan. Communist-ruled China and the island have been governed separately since 1949.