in 1977, at the age of 21, the japanese home ministry would no longer allow don to hold a dual us–japan citizenship, requiring him to choose one. he chose japanese citizenship. don's decision was influenced by a npb restriction that allowed only two foreign players per team at the time. he then assumed the name until his stepfather adopted him that same year, at which time he took the name don katsuki nomura. commenting on his new japanese name, nomura remarked, "it helped me get into places and meet people". he began playing on a minor league team affiliated with the yakult swallows the next year as a utility infielder. in 1981, he was released after playing four seasons with the team because of poor performance. that same year, nomura's 62-year-old father, alvin engel, committed suicide in hawaii via carbon monoxide poisoning. nomura traveled to hawaii to pick up his father's ashes and returned them to japan.