Hochi Shimbun Co., Ltd. “Sanrio Baseball Academy 2025” Held
The Hochi Shimbun Co., Ltd. Press Release: September 29, 2025 “Sanrio Baseball Academy 2025” to be held 203 elementary school girls participated, enjoying the fun of baseball with Sanrio characters
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/71317/786/71317-786-35885955dd7e6078497a287b98720065-3025×1129.png (C)2025 SANRIO CO., LTD. TOKYO, JAPAN Author: Sanrio Co., Ltd. The instructors were professional baseball legends with international experience, including former Giants manager Tatsunori Hara and Yoshinobu Takahashi. In line with Sanrio’s corporate philosophy of “Everyone Gets Along,” this baseball clinic was held with the hope of bringing more smiles to children’s faces through baseball. Hoping to inspire young girls to take on the world, the instructors were legends with global experience. The team is headed by Tatsunori Hara, the former manager of the Giants who won the 2009 WBC championship, as general manager, along with Yoshinobu Takahashi, the former manager of the Giants who won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Masaki Saito, the former manager of the Giants who won the 2016 WBSC and U-23 World Cup championship, Kazuo Matsui, the former manager of Seibu Lions who has experience in MLB and Samurai Japan, Ryota Igarashi, the former Mets and Softbank player, Tomoya Satozaki, a former member of the 2006 WBC championship team and a member of the 2008 Beijing Olympics team, Kenji Koshino, the former player of Yakult who won the silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and Fumio Kubo, a former player of Taiyo, who served as coaching advisor. Hello Kitty, My Melody, and Kuromi also appeared Following catch and fielding practice, Takahashi, Matsui, and Satozaki demonstrated their long tee shots during batting practice. The players erupted in cheers as each hit went over the fence. Former Nippon Ham Fighters player Kenji Sugitani provided live commentary on the training session as a reporter. He and Hello Kitty, My Melody, and Kuromi, who also participated in a charity photo session, really livened up the venue.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/71317/786/71317-786-4db7a54caf61c477462a01c4fe2b720e-3900×2585.jpg Yoshinobu Takahashi enthusiastically giving batting instruction 807 pieces of baseball equipment were collected and donated to countries and regions where equipment is in short supply. Hara encouraged the children, saying, “Do your best and spend each day with great hope. A wonderful life awaits you.” An activity was also carried out to collect unused equipment and donate it to countries and regions in need of equipment through JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), with 807 items collected.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/71317/786/71317-786-8954c4d9f6c21c1ffbc481593be3eb13-3900×2172.jpg 203 elementary school girls from 37 teams participated. Read the feature article here Upcoming Events and Overview ●November 24th (Monday, national holiday) Oita City, Oita Prefecture (Betsudai Kosan Stadium) ●December 6th (Saturday) Inagi City, Tokyo (Giants Town Stadium) Sanrio’s Hello Kitty, My Melody, and Kuromi are scheduled to make an appearance to cheer on participants and liven up the venue with commemorative photos. Kenji Sugitani will also be participating as a support reporter. This creates a sense of unity between the audience and the venue. A pink cafe wagon decorated with Sanrio characters will also appear at the venue, selling sweets and merchandise such as crepes and donuts. All participants will also receive Sanrio character goods as a gift. Thank you cards will also be distributed so that children can express their gratitude to those who support them on a daily basis. This is a great opportunity to properly express feelings that they might normally be too embarrassed to express. (The content may be subject to change due to the organizer’s circumstances.) Sanrio Baseball Academy Official X ■About the Hochi Shimbun Baseball Class Event This event’s predecessor was a baseball clinic that began in 2010 at the initiative of former Yomiuri Giants manager Tatsunori Hara. This year marks the 16th year of this event, which has been held a total of 57 times in 32 prefectures. To date, more than 22,000 people have participated. In addition, since 2023, we have resumed our equipment collection activities (collecting unused baseball equipment through baseball classes and donating it to children in Japan and overseas who are suffering from a lack of equipment through JICA and other
organizations). To date, we have collected over 40,000 gloves, bats, and other items, and donated over 30,000 items to 25 countries and regions, including Brazil and Ghana. ◆Hochi Shimbunsha First published on June 10, 1872 (Meiji 5) as the “Yubin Hochi Shimbun.” The company is engaged in the publication and sale of the daily newspaper Sports Hochi, the publication and sale of magazines such as “Giants Monthly” and “Hochi High School Baseball,” and the distribution of electronic media news. In addition, to promote sports and culture, it hosts award programs such as the Hochi Film Awards, the Best Sumo Wrestler of the Year Award, and the Golden Spirit Award, as well as events such as the Japan Golf Series and the Ome Marathon.