Naomi Osaka picks Japanese citizenship with eye on Olympics

Japan's Naomi Osaka returns the ball to Slovak Dominika Cibulkova during their WTA Masters tournament tennis match in Rome at the Foro Italico, on May 16, 2019. [Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP]

Tennis star Naomi Osaka has decided to choose Japanese over American nationality with an eye on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, public broadcaster NHK reported Thursday.

Osaka, who has a Japanese mother and a Haitian father, told NHK she has completed an administrative step to obtain Japanese citizenship ahead of her birthday next week.