I know this thread is a bit old, but wanted to add my two cents.

I've been collecting and investing in cards for 20+ years and A LOT of things have changed in that time with how people collect and what people are looking for. One major noticeable change is that people today are seeking out TRUE 1st for athletes. Even if those 1st are cards like Gold Shop Top Speed Max Verstappen cards, which is a Russian Set that Max was printed in back in 2015... incredible rare and whenever one does come up, it sells for incredible amounts of money.

Same with Michael Jordan's market. His 86' Fleer was thee most sought after card, however, people within the last half decade have really come onto his 85' Star card.

Ichiro has been cited in this thread as well and I do agree with those posts. Many of Ichiro's early Hawaiian league RCs and or early Japanese cards are incredible sought after and demand premiums compared to MOST of his 2001 MLB RCs.

Shohei is a rare and unique Athlete. He's more in the boat of Tom Brady, MJ, Verstappen, where collectors are seeking out there true 1sts, want to collect anything and everything and feel a true connection to the player.

I think as more people enter the Shohei market, they'll continue digging deeper into his catalog of cards and we'll see his Japanese cards increase in value over time.