I would like to talk about what happened in the early hours of Friday, October 18, 2024, and my thoughts about Nigeria...(´；ω；`)Uuuu

Well, I grew up without studying properly since elementary school and only played soccer, so this Nigerian baseball business... it took a tremendous amount of time and energy... Well, I couldn't come up with any ideas (laughs). However, during my journey to find examples of failures in promoting baseball in Africa, one word popped out at me: Suddenly, the world opened up before my eyes. I was just like Moses! Burkina Faso is known as one of the poorest countries in Africa. I went to Hokkaido to interview someone who has been promoting and supporting baseball in Burkina Faso for decades. It's huge! Hokkaido is too big! I drove four hours from the airport to meet him. As expected, he has been active for decades, so he told me about many failures. He is a very generous person. As we talked and sorted out what we had, it became clear that the keyword "money" was a common issue for everyone, including the activist groups and local people. I wondered if there were any other issues besides money when it comes to baseball practice, so I asked the question. What is the problem with baseball practice? The answer is "The equipment... bats, balls, and gloves are all second-hand donations. It's rare to find a glove that can actually catch a ball... Most of the time, the only gloves donated are those that are too damaged to catch the ball, so we can't practice properly..." Indeed, the gloves of the Nigerian children playing baseball were worn out. There were few children who could play catch properly, and many of them did not even have gloves. It occurred to me that the problem was not that they lacked the technique to catch the ball, but that the glove itself was the problem... (´；ω；`) Uuuu And then, "Why not make gloves in Nigeria!!!" That's easy to say, but it takes a lot of money and planning to do it. My heart is dancing, but I can't say "That's great! Let's do it!" right then and there... First of all, how many people in Nigeria, where the average monthly salary is 20,000 yen, can afford to buy expensive gloves? (ﾟДﾟ) Probably none... I thought this calmly at the time, and wasn't really enthusiastic about the idea. After the interview, we headed home. I drove my car absentmindedly, enjoying the tranquil scenery of nature. While stopping to rest at a roadside station along the way, I noticed that I had a message on my cell phone. The person who contacted me was the director of a Shizuoka Prefecture-based NGO that provides support to children who want to continue playing baseball but are forced to give up for financial reasons. "Thanks to your sponsorship again this year, dozens of children were able to continue playing baseball ~♪(^_-)-☆♪" In addition to promoting baseball in Africa, our company has also sponsored support for children in Japan who have had to give up baseball for economic reasons. So, finally, it happened! The dots connected and an idea struck me!! 1. Save even one child from having to give up baseball for financial reasons! 2. Create new industries and jobs in Nigeria through baseball! The intersection of these two pieces is the "Globe"!! ⚾ Not only in Japan, but all over the world, the price of gloves continues to rise, and for youth baseball gloves, The average price is 35,000 yen, and for high school baseball it is 70,000 yen, which is very expensive... (´；ω；`) Uuuu So many kids quit baseball because they can't afford it. But some of them might have become professional baseball players if they had continued. It's kind of sad that a child's dreams are being taken away for adult reasons... but then again, gloves are so expensive, so I can understand the adult reasons... I also have three sons, and the two oldest play baseball. My oldest son was leading until the final two in the Koshien qualifying tournament, when he couldn't get the last out and lost in a walk-off... It was disappointing, but what's more, if you go to a strong school, you have to live in a boarding school, and on top of the boarding fees, there's equipment fees, travel expenses... it costs about 200,000 yen a month... (-.-)y-゜゜゜ My second son also went to a strong school, so he went to a boarding school... I've experienced the pain of this expense, so I understand why adults would make them give up... It's an investment with no guarantee that they'll be able to become a professional baseball player in the future, after all. Back to the point, I understand the feelings of adults and children like this, so I bought these damn expensive gloves. If we could provide it at a very reasonable price and with high quality, we could provide it to children all over the world who want to continue playing baseball! This means that we need to keep our costs down to a level that can be offered to children in Nigeria who want to play baseball. So, what was the Nigerian baseball business going to do? That problem has now been put to rest!! in???? How do I make gloves? Do I make them? Who makes them? It's all image-driven, and there's no concreteness to it (laughs). Well, that's fine! We've decided what to do, so now we just need to make it more concrete. For now, I thought it would be ok to send the items to the major manufacturers for confirmation! Okay, okay… It wasn’t going to go so smoothly, and from here on, The journey of Made in Nigeria glove manufacturing has begun! Will they be able to navigate the ocean full of obstacles and be hit by a giant tsunami? Will the Margerick Nigeria be able to reach the goal safely? Please look forward to the next one!! ~To be continued~ ⚾WE ARE ONE TEAM⚾

Finally, back to the main topic. Various organizations, including JICA, NGOs, general incorporated associations, and universities, are promoting baseball in Africa. I think this is a wonderful thing!! MLB is also mainly based in Uganda, and although it is gradually expanding, baseball and baseball may seem the same, but they are very different. Even when it comes to instruction, in baseball the swing is to swing down from above and hit, whereas in baseball the swing is to raise up with an upper swing. If a baseball gets hit by a dead ball, it will take off its hat and apologize, and it will glare at it. Very different cultures. Recently, thanks to the Shohei Ohtani effect, Japanese-style baseball culture has begun to be adopted in MLB, and more and more players are now removing their hats to apologize if they are hit by a dead ball. So, which one should we adopt? Is it baseball? Is it baseball? The answer is "Hybrid" "The mental education of Japanese baseball + the physical strength of American baseball + localization in Africa" This is the basic line. I especially want to place importance on localization. There's baseball, there's baseball, there's softball, there's baseball 5... On the contrary, there's too much, it's confusing, and it seems like the kids are playing without really understanding it. There are people who are promoting baseball from Japan to African countries, but they have many questions. I make appointments with people who are stationed in the world and travel around the world. I spent about a year searching for examples of failure. Well, it goes without saying, but to those who are working so hard, the promotion of baseball in Africa isn't going well, right? Why? It's a rude and disrespectful question... I've been turned away at the door many times before the meeting with "How rude!? What are you!?" (# ﾟДﾟ)... sob. But… if you think about it objectively and look at the statistics, it becomes obvious… ( ﾟДﾟ) Baseball5 was introduced as a trigger, and the number of players has increased so far. However, the number of people who belong to club teams and continue to play has decreased for more than 10 years... It's fun if you play it casually, but it's a different story if you play it seriously. If I were to play seriously, I would choose soccer or basketball... If I had to choose, I'd choose cricket... Baseball is not on the list. There are some rare people who will calmly listen to you while conveying the facts, without any discussion of whether things are going well or not, and without any emotional arguments. These people all say the same thing: "It costs money." So the project isn't progressing as expected. I tried to unravel this "costly" thing in my own way. [Project owner: Japanese organization] Costs for project progress. We raised funds from sponsors and crowdfunding, but Africa is far away. Especially baseball. There are few people who sympathize with us, so it is difficult to raise funds. The benefits of sponsorship are goodwill for everyone except companies considering expanding into Africa. It is difficult to gather sponsors. As a result, we are limited to what we can do with our limited funds and resources. Furthermore, funds are decreasing, so there is less we can do. [African children who are project members] In the first place, you should work instead of playing baseball! It'll just make you hungry!? (# ﾟДﾟ) They are likely to face opposition from their parents. For poor families, sports are not productive and only make them hungry. They can't earn money right away. So parents are focused on making money right in front of them. What's more, they need equipment... and it's expensive because it's imported... They manage to play with donated equipment, but it's hard to play well because it's all worn out. But they don't have the money to replace it with new equipment. There is also strong opposition from parents. As a result, they can't continue. [Shima's personal opinion] Project owners need a source of funding, sufficient investment, lobbying to expand the circle of sympathy, and an ecosystem to solicit support from sympathy and circulate the funds raised to the children who are project members. Most baseball promotion organizations are not private companies, but NGOs or general incorporated associations, and are organizations that raise donations rather than making money. Therefore, their source of funding is donations, and if they don't collect donations, they can't do anything. We are a joint-stock company. Earning money is our source of funding. In addition, we raise support through crowdfunding and other means and use them as an option. In other words. They need money and empathy. Children in Africa need a better environment and a vision for the future that their parents will buy into. Somehow, I was able to draw it fluffy. Baseball promotion is not progressing, and the reason for the slowdown is "money." Another challenge facing Africans is money. However, saying "I can't do this because I don't have the money" is just an excuse. If you keep making excuses, nothing will get started and nothing will move forward. So, we decided to think about "money" in a way that is unique to us and a corporation. "Nigeria + Baseball + Money" = ○○??? Phew... It's not that easy to come up with something... ( ﾟДﾟ) (lol) Well, if it were that easy to come up with something, the barrier to entry would be low and it would be copied in no time (laughs). We need more ideas that will lead to solving fundamental problems and create new industries and new jobs. By changing the angle and approach, I tried to approach those who had turned me away again (laughs). I'm very persistent (laughs). Because I want to keep my promise to my children, and I want to be persistent and get a solution to the fundamental problem, even if it means I'm just annoying and disliked (laughs). However, when I change the angle and perspective, many people listen to my story, and many different issues come up. Of course, the main theme of "money" remains the same, but Rather than not having money, they create money and give it back to children. From negative to positive. Let's switch to a positive topic about money. I stared at the assignment I was given. My two pet cats joined me in front of the computer. I thought about it for several months. So, I used my brain to come up with an idea!! it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Look forward to the next one! (laughs) ~To be continued~ ⚾WE ARE ONE TEAM⚾

A few days after I returned to Japan, I received a message on WhatsApp from Dayo (former President Obasanjo's youngest son, secretary, and president of Obasanjo Farms). How are you doing after that? Did you return to Japan safely? Is your business up and running? Thank you for your concern, "Please forget about the small talk. I love soccer so much that I ended up asking a strange question... so please forget about it." What Dayo asked me for advice was that he is an avid European soccer fan, and in particular, he is a big fan of players who played for Feyenoord and other teams. A passionate fan of "Shinji Ono"!! ❤⚽❤ I don't think that's possible, but if you could get a signature from Ono Shinji, please send it to me. "It's my dream!" he said with shining eyes, I remember clearly. A dream for Dayo-san, who has helped me so much✨⚽✨ There's no way we can't make it come true!! That said, although Ono Shinji and I are close in age, we have no common interests... Oh, by the way, just a little chit-chat, but my family has a long history of Olympians, with my mother competing in the Sapporo Olympics (a speed race on a single-person sled called luge), and my middle brother being the first high school student to compete in the Olympics in baseball. Being a contrarian, I have never played baseball lol After that, my brother joined the Hiroshima Toyo Carp as the second draft pick, then transferred to the Seibu Lines, ending his 19 years in professional baseball. After that, he served as the Seibu Lines first-team batting coach for about 10 years. (During his active career, he was the batting champion once and was nicknamed Red Godzilla.) At that time, baseball was so popular that it was considered a national sport, and it was common for people around me to play baseball. I was born in 1980 (Showa 55), and was collectively known as the "Matsuzaka generation." I always had this feeling in my mind that if I had played baseball, my life would have been different. I sometimes think that So why didn't you play baseball? -My dad hits the ball with the same strength as his eldest son, who is six years younger than me, when I'm in the last year of kindergarten, and since I can't catch it, it just hits me somewhere on my body and hurts, so it's not fun. ・The kids I don't like in kindergarten are choosing baseball. -I'm a contrarian, so I wanted to do something other than baseball, which my two older brothers were playing. Well, for this reason I thought. The ball is small, so it hits you and hurts. So let's choose a ball that you don't have to catch and that is big!! So I chose "soccer." He continued playing soccer through high school, attending Seibudai High School in Saitama Prefecture. The school is a prestigious institution, with around 400 members in the soccer club alone, and which even competes in national tournaments. So he was really good at soccer? No, lol. I was so bad at studying that I had no other options for further education, so I was forced to join Seibudai High School on a sports recommendation, and I was just a member of the soccer club lol. There were about 400 members in the club... Practice was tough, and before games there were mysterious shouts of "Spirit! Spirit! Spirit! Spirit! Spirit!" and I was forced to live in a hierarchical society similar to that of the military lol. Now I see it as a good experience, and I am grateful that I have many friends who shared the same experiences with me, and that I still have many connections with them even after entering society. Now, back to the main topic. Searching for a common ground with Shinji Ono. I found one right away. At the time, Ono Shinji was a member of Consadole Sapporo, and had taken up front-office duties after Kawai Ryuji, nicknamed Mr. Consadole, had retired the previous year. Since this is a column, I will call him Ryuji Kawai. He is my senior at Seibudai High School, two years older than me, and the vice captain. My younger brother was in the same class as him. We are from the same Saitama prefecture, and we have played against each other since elementary school. He is a senior who has competed with me to qualify for the national tournament, and someone I look up to. As I wrote earlier, the soccer club is a military, hierarchical society. There was no way I could casually talk to the vice captain, who was two years older than me, and it had been 25 years since I graduated, so I probably wouldn't even remember me... but I sent him a message on Instagram. Yes. I couldn't remember it at all lol Of course, there are about 400 members in the club, and there is no way that the seniors who are so dedicated to soccer that they don't have time to pay attention to the juniors two years younger than them would remember them (laughs). However, I wanted to keep my promise, and at the same time I wanted to hear why the promotion of baseball in Africa was not going well, so I had plans to go to Hokkaido for another reason, and I managed to get an appointment!! I was excited to meet him for the first time in 25 years, so we headed to the sushi restaurant for which he had made a reservation (don't make your senior make the reservation lol). After greeting each other and shaking hands firmly, we asked each other questions such as "Are you really a junior?" (lol) and "What's your cheer?" (lol), and finally got to the main topic. Dayo, the youngest son of the former president of Nigeria, is a huge fan of Shinji Ono and wants his autograph! Is there anything we can do about it? (lol) Hmm, we're close so we can talk, but if he doesn't want to talk then we can't. Is that okay? By the way, do you want Ryuji Kawai's autograph? (lol) Yes, sorry, I don't need it (too rude to my senior) So, we ate delicious sushi and drank beer, talked about the nostalgic Seibudai High School soccer club, and when the bar closed, we went to a second bar and drank until late at night. About a week later, I received a call from my senior. Shinji is good! She said, "I'll send you an autograph so please tell me your address!" It's hereeeeeeeeeeee ( *´艸｀) I don't have any luck with planes, but I do have some good connections and luck!! I did it!! I can keep my promise to Dayo!! ❤ I contacted Dayo right away and kept the promise I made. You can get Shinji Ono's autograph! I'll send it to you when I get it!! Dayo was so cute when he was acting like a kid on the phone❤ The autograph arrived quickly, and although I had imagined it would be on a colored paper, it was actually on a uniform!! What's more, since I had sent a photo of Dayo, it was also a large one!! Thank you very much for your concern (´；ω；`)uuuu I immediately contacted them to thank them and arranged for it to be sent by EMS. Yes… I screwed up here… The contents of the mail read, "Shinji Ono received a message from Dayo (former President Obasanjo's youngest son, secretary and president of Obasanjo Farms). How are you doing after that? Did you return to Japan safely? Is your business up and running? Thank you for your concern, "Please forget about the small talk. I love soccer so much that I ended up asking a strange question... so please forget about it." What Dayo asked me for advice was that he is an avid European soccer fan, and in particular, he is a big fan of players who played for Feyenoord and other teams. A passionate fan of "Shinji Ono"!! ❤⚽❤ I don't think that's possible, but if you could get a signature from Ono Shinji, please send it to me. "It's my dream!" he said with shining eyes, I remember clearly. A dream for Dayo-san, who has helped me so much✨⚽✨ There's no way we can't make it come true!! That said, although Ono Shinji and I are close in age, we have no common interests... Oh, just a little chit-chat, but my family has a long history of Olympians, with my mother competing in the Sapporo Olympics (luge, a speed race on a single-person sled), and my middle brother being the first high school student to compete in the Olympics in baseball. Being a contrarian, I have never played baseball lol After that, my brother joined the Hiroshima Toyo Carp as the second draft pick, then transferred to the Seibu Lines, ending his 19 years in professional baseball. After that, he served as the Seibu Lines first-team batting coach for about 10 years. (During his active career, he was the batting champion once and was nicknamed Red Godzilla.) At that time, baseball was so popular that it was considered a national sport, and it was common for people around me to play baseball. I was born in 1980 (Showa 55), and was collectively known as the "Matsuzaka generation." Somewhere in my mind, I always had the feeling that if I had played baseball, my life would have been different. I sometimes think that So why didn't you play baseball? -My dad hits the ball with the same strength as his eldest son, who is six years younger than me, when I'm in the last year of kindergarten, and since I can't catch it, it just hits me somewhere on my body and hurts, so it's not fun. ・The kids I don't like in kindergarten are choosing baseball. -I'm a contrarian, so I wanted to do something other than baseball, which my two older brothers were playing. Well, for this reason I thought. The ball is small, so it hits you and hurts. So let's choose a ball that you don't have to catch and that is big!! So I chose "soccer." He continued playing soccer through high school, attending Seibudai High School in Saitama Prefecture. The school is a prestigious institution, with around 400 members in the soccer club alone, and which even competes in national tournaments. So he was really good at soccer? No, lol. I was so bad at studying that I had no other options for further education, so I was forced to join Seibudai High School on a sports recommendation, and I was just a member of the soccer club lol. There were about 400 members in the club... Practice was tough, and before games there were mysterious shouts of "Spirit! Spirit! Spirit! Spirit! Spirit!" and I was forced to live in a hierarchical society similar to that of the military lol. Now I see it as a good experience, and I am grateful that I have many friends who shared the same experiences with me, and that I still have many connections with them even after entering society. Now, back to the main topic. Searching for a common ground with Shinji Ono. I found one right away. At the time, Ono Shinji was a member of Consadole Sapporo, and had taken up front-office duties after Kawai Ryuji, nicknamed Mr. Consadole, had retired the previous year. Since this is a column, I will call him Ryuji Kawai. He is my senior at Seibudai High School, two years older than me, and the vice captain. My younger brother was in the same class as him. We are from the same prefecture of Saitama, and we have played against each other since elementary school. He is a senior who has competed with me to qualify for the national tournament, and someone I look up to. As I wrote earlier, the soccer club is a military, hierarchical society. There was no way I could casually talk to the vice captain, who was two years older than me, and it had been 25 years since I graduated, so I probably wouldn't even remember me... but I sent him a message on Instagram. Yes. I couldn't remember it at all lol Of course, there are about 400 members in the club, and there is no way that the seniors who are so dedicated to soccer that they don't have time to pay attention to the juniors two years younger than them would remember them (laughs). However, I wanted to keep my promise, and at the same time I wanted to hear why the promotion of baseball in Africa was not going well, so I had plans to go to Hokkaido for another reason, and I managed to get an appointment!! I was excited to meet him for the first time in 25 years, so we headed to the sushi restaurant for which he had made a reservation (don't make your senior make the reservation lol). After greeting each other and shaking hands firmly, we asked each other questions such as "Are you really a junior?" (lol) and "What's your cheer?" (lol), and finally got to the main topic. Dayo, the youngest son of the former president of Nigeria, is a huge fan of Shinji Ono and wants his autograph! Is there anything we can do about it? (lol) Hmm, we're close so we can talk, but if he doesn't want to talk then we can't. Is that okay? By the way, do you want Ryuji Kawai's autograph? (lol) Yes, sorry, I don't need it (too rude to my senior) So, we ate delicious sushi and drank beer, talked about the nostalgic Seibudai High School soccer club, and when the bar closed, we went to a second bar and drank until late at night. About a week later, I received a call from my senior. Shinji is good! She said, "I'll send you an autograph so please tell me your address!" It's hereeeeeeeeeeee ( *´艸｀) I don't have any luck with planes, but I do have some good connections and luck!! I did it!! I can keep my promise to Dayo!! ❤ I contacted Dayo right away and kept the promise I made. You can get Shinji Ono's autograph! I'll send it to you when I get it!! Dayo was so cute when he was acting like a kid on the phone❤ The autograph arrived quickly, and although I had imagined it would be on a colored paper, it was actually on a uniform!! What's more, since I had sent a photo of Dayo, it was also a large one!! Thank you very much for your concern (´；ω；`)uuuu I immediately contacted them to thank them and arranged for it to be sent by EMS. Yes… I screwed up here… The contents of the mail "Uniform signed by Shinji Ono" I honestly wrote it down... What's wrong with that is... Nigeria is a soccer powerhouse, and soccer is the most popular sport in all of Africa. European soccer is especially popular, and Shinji Ono is one of the star players. If it says that the contents are a uniform signed by Shinji Ono, it's not uncommon for the delivery person to steal it... Even if it's a package belonging to the family of a former president... there's only a risk that it will be resold at a high price... Oh no... ( ﾟДﾟ) As expected, even though it was sent by air, it took a month...two months...to confirm that the package had arrived at the post office in Nigeria, but the package hasn't moved from the airport post office...(´；ω；`)Uuuu Three months had passed and it still hadn't moved, so I had no choice but to ask Dayo to contact the airport quarantine officer or customs official to find out why my luggage hadn't moved from the airport. Here's the conclusion. If you want this package, give me money. It's not about customs duties, but the contents are listed so I know it's valuable, so if you want it just pay me and I'll send it to you by mail... Phew... it was my mistake, you see... I'm sorry... (´；ω；`)uuuu About a week later, I got a call from Dayo. A message of gratitude to Shinji Ono with photos and videos. Oh! It arrived safely! And I'm wearing it! ❤⚽❤ After much negotiation, he managed to get the signed jersey back without handing over any money! (I wonder if that's true... What's even scarier than money is having your existence erased...) Well, there's no point in being suspicious, so I sent the photos and a thank-you video to Shinji Ono through my senior, and I was able to keep another promise✨ Then, the next day, I received a message from former President Obasanjo. "Thank you, Yasu, for making my son's dream come true. It was a chat, a consultation, and a request. Yasu says it was a promise, but it wasn't a promise. But Yasu did everything he could for my son and made his dream come true. Thank you. Now it's my turn to repay Yasu. As a family, we will do everything we can!! Family, let's work together to provide a bright future for the children of Nigeria!" And (sob sob)... Thank you for your kind words✨ I had no ulterior motives, I just wanted to make Dayo's dream come true. As a result, more people are willing to help and support us, and we form a circle. This will contribute to creating a brighter future for our children. Through baseball, we aim to educate the players mentally and produce future professional baseball players. I hope that through this project, the circle of goodwill will spread and a brighter future will be created for children. I felt as if I saw a faint glimmer of hope, even if it was just a vague thought. Now, next up is an interview trip to find out the reason why baseball development in Africa is declining. ~To be continued~ ⚾WE ARE ONE TEAM⚾