Episode 33: Public Speaking Skills

March 10, 2026

The other day, I had a job giving a lecture. The requested theme was "Second Careers."

For a pro-wrestler, this is a topic of great interest.

Compared to other professional sports, pro-wrestling has a relatively long athlete lifespan. In fact, I stayed active until I was 49, and many of my seniors are still going strong.

I mean, look at Fujinami-san... I never imagined I’d retire before the man I’d been watching since I was a kid! (lol).

Anyway, back to the topic. Since retiring, I’ve been receiving more requests for lectures from corporations and local governments.

The themes vary slightly each time, but most are along the lines of "Please talk about your mental fortitude" or "How you revitalized New Japan Pro-Wrestling."

However, this time, the theme was strictly "Second Careers." The title was: [Beyond the Ring: Organizational Power that Enables Diverse Second Careers].

Wait... based on that title, does that mean I have to speak with the vibe that "NJPW already has a perfect second career strategy in place"!?

Recently, the only ones who transitioned from wrestlers to "suit-and-tie guys" (office staff) are Wataru Inoue and myself. In other words, there are very few precedents within the company to use as a model... I was in a bind!

Despite my worries, I managed to solidify the content the day before. And man, I’m glad I did. Why? Because the slot they gave me was 90 minutes long.

Seriously, can you talk for 90 minutes? On my podcast with Mashimo-san, we struggle to hit 30 minutes even with a set theme, and now they want 90!?

But, I always want to exceed expectations.

The core of my lecture was "Ensuring Psychological Safety."

By this, I mean constructing a support system that allows individuals to take on new challenges. Specifically, I want us to be flexible when it comes to both sending wrestlers out and welcoming them back.

Normally, from a business perspective, it's better to lock wrestlers in so they don't go to other promotions. It gives the fans peace of mind, too.

However, I feel that we shouldn't suppress an individual's ambition.

I don't want anyone to retire with regrets like, "I wish I had done that back then."

As I spoke on the theme "Organizational Power that Enables Diverse Second Careers," my conviction grew even stronger: "Building a system that can properly support a wrestler's second career is an urgent task."

It seems I’ve brought home a brand-new challenge for myself. Ugh...

Lectures that come with homework are TOUGH!!!