President's Diary RSS

August 2, 2026 Today we are at Fukuoka Kokusai Center. Finally, we have reached Event 11 out of 19 for G1 CLIMAX 36. We have arrived right at the exact midpoint of this long journey. In marathon terms, it's the hydration station. In my terms, it's the timing for a weigh-in (laughs). Although... my own personal journey toward 85 kg hasn't even reached its halfway point yet... In both A Block and B Block, the wins and losses are intricately tangled up in a chaotic standings table. At this stage of the tournament, the "weight of a single win" grows...

July 31, 2026 The Kagawa show of the G1. The main event for this day was Yuya Uemura vs. Wolf Aaron. Actually, this match was Wolf Aaron's very first time main-eventing a singles match. As I mentioned to all our employees during our morning meeting, "appearing in the main event" doesn't just mean your match is scheduled last. It means carrying the full weight of the fans' satisfaction for that entire day on your shoulders. It means properly bringing the high energy of the venue to a satisfying landing. In other words, it means bearing the "responsibility of closing out...

July 30, 2026 In this column, I usually write mainly about what happens inside the ring. Today, I’d like to shift the perspective a bit and talk about what goes on outside the ring. Arriving at the venue early to assemble the ring. Tearing down the ring and equipment after the show. Removing the ropes, clearing out the guardrails, and carrying heavy corner posts on their shoulders. They are truly the unsung heroes behind the scenes—or rather, the unsung heroes under the ring. The reason wrestlers look so brilliant during their entrances is actually thanks to the lighting crew adjusting...

July 29, 2026 G1 CLIMAX 36 is finally reaching its mid-tournament phase. With fierce battles night after night, fatigue and damage are steadily accumulating in the wrestlers' bodies. Especially during a stretch of back-to-back matches, recovery often just can't keep pace. Looking back on my own active wrestling days, when my stamina was completely running out near the end of a match, the moment the "TA-NA-HA-SHI" chants erupted from the crowd, my body would move like magic. My brain would be thinking, "I can't take any more!"—yet my body kept moving on its own. What on earth was actually happening...

July 28, 2026 To everyone looking forward to enjoying this year's G1 CLIMAX to the absolute fullest: thank you so much. You've earned a raise. Yes. In spirit, at least. Jokes aside, as someone who holds the record for the most appearances in the G1 CLIMAX, allow me to share a few key points with you. 1. Track both "Win-Loss Records" and "Physical Toll" While the standings table is important, the block tournament is a brutal war of attrition back-to-back. How will today's match affect a wrestler's body tomorrow and beyond? Once you start imagining that, the G1 stops being...

July 27, 2026 Now then, this coming July 29th is our Osaka show. This year, instead of our familiar stomping grounds at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, the event will take place at "Yamato University Arena." I’ve actually wrestled there once before myself. However, when people think of Osaka, the image of Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium is strong. Just hearing the name "Yamato," some of you might be left wondering, "Is that over toward Nara?" or "Where even is that?" and find it hard to get a sense of where the venue is located. I reflect on my lack of explanation here, and...

July 24, 2026 The other day, we held a joint event with the Kyoto Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra at Tokyo International Forum. Classical melodies and professional wrestling entrance themes—on the surface, it seems like an oil-and-water combination. But once the lights went up and the performance began, wouldn't you know it, a surprisingly fantastic chemical reaction took place. However, in terms of attendance, we weren't able to pack this massive hall to capacity. While I have no intention of making excuses, I view this result not as a "failure," but as an "investment." When you start something new, scorecards rarely show...

July 23, 2026 Did you see the cover of this week’s Weekly Pro-Wrestling? It had the headline "Hero of the Sun" right next to Yuya Uemura. The second I saw it, my heart honestly skipped a beat. Because back when I was a young wrestler, I used to be called "The Genius Child of the Sun." I never expected another New Japan wrestler to come along bearing the title of the "Sun"... When I looked into it, it seems that in New Japan’s 54-year history, I was the very first to put "the Sun" front and center (if there was...

July 22, 2026 My third G1 victory came in 2018. My opponent was Kota Ibushi, and the final match was a brutal 35-minute war—the longest final in G1 history. That year, I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my knees, and my right knee was completely battered. At the start of the year, I lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, and if I’m being honest, there was a palpable feeling in the air that "Tanahashi's era is over." Physically, it was without a doubt the most grueling condition I had been in across all three of my G1 wins. Youth was gone......

July 22, 2026 My second G1 victory came in 2015, a full eight years after my first title win. My opponent was Shinsuke Nakamura, and the Ryogoku Kokugikan was sold out to absolute capacity. Compared to my first victory, New Japan Pro-Wrestling had completely come back to life, and the boos that once greeted me had somewhere along the way transformed into massive cheers. And somewhere along the way, I had turned into "the man who never gets tired," holding IWGP title matches in practically every single series. It felt like I had been pouring 100% of my energy into...