Yuzuru Hanyu donated 55 million yen to his hometown rink behind his marriage announcement! Yuzuru Hanyu’s “spirit of humanity” was nurtured by his original experience of “being hit by a disaster during practice.

Japan’s first gold medal for men, won at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2002, brought more good news to his wounded hometown than ever before. But Hanyu’s expression was dull.

Why is there no smile on your face even though you won the gold medal? When asked at the press conference after the competition, he replied, “It’s difficult to talk about the disaster. I have to think about what I could have done,” he replied stiffly. He then added, “Now that I am a gold medalist, there are things I can do to help the recovery effort. I want to make today the start of that.” He also expressed his determination to become a star of hope for the disaster-stricken areas.

Although Hanyu has said that “as long as I am an athlete, it is almost impossible for me to be involved in direct activities,” he has done what he can to help. One such example is the donation of all royalties from his autobiography, “Blue Flame,” published in the same year, to the Ice Rink Sendai.

In January 2004, before appearing at an ice show in Morioka City, she visited Otsuchi Town in Iwate Prefecture, which was severely damaged by the earthquake, to hear from people concerned about the situation at the time. She created the program “Requiem of Heaven and Earth,” hoping to express her strength to overcome the pain, sorrow, and suffering of the victims, and danced beautifully in the exhibition and other performances.

When he turned pro last July, he also started his career at the Ice Rink Sendai, where he skated “SEIMEI” and other pieces for about 1 hour and 40 minutes in front of 88 media representatives from 38 companies at the “SharePractice” open practice on August 10.