‘Great Restoration at Hanshin Under Kyuji Fujikawa: Behind the Fan-less Family Feud

The Inside Story of the Hanshin “Grand Political Restoration”

Manager Akifu Okada (66) will step down at the end of this season, and his successor will be Kyuji Fujikawa (44), a commentator and the team’s Special Assistant (SA). A press conference for his appointment was held on the 15th.

“Poor health was one of the major factors for his resignation, but the fact that the team intervened in Okada’s continuation also played a significant role. In the first place, it was the chairman and group CEO of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (HD), Kazuo Sumi (75), who led the appointment of Okada as manager.

Frustrated by the Tigers’ repeated failures to win the championship, Sumi intervened in the team’s personnel decisions and pushed for Okada’s appointment almost forcibly. Furthermore, by placing Ken Hiroshi Sugiyama (65), the former president of Hankyu Hanshin HD and Sumi’s right-hand man, as the team owner, Sumi was able to closely monitor the situation within the organization. However, with this resignation drama, the “Sumi-Sugiyama system” came to an end, and personnel authority was returned to the Hanshin team.”

This “Great Restoration” happened because the Hanshin team, having its management control taken away by Chairman Sumi, used a promise made two years ago as leverage to oppose him.

“It seems that Chairman Sumi had made a promise with the team that this will be the only time I intervene in managerial decisions. Using this promise as a banner, the Hanshin team and those opposed to the chairman began to work on removing Sumi’s staff.

The hidden mastermind behind this situation is said to be Mr. X, a director at Hanshin Electric Railway. Mr. X had previously been an executive at the team. He was well known within the company for his strong dislike of both Hankyu and Kazuo Sumi, and it is said that under his influence, the team expelled the Hankyu faction and regained control. After all, Chairman Sumi is from Hankyu.”

 

Once again, the Tigers have become embroiled in the infighting of their parent company, and Okada’s efforts to strengthen the team are halfway through. Fujikawa’s views on baseball as a commentator are highly regarded and he is popular, but there is still some concern about his lack of coaching experience.

There is also the possibility of another intervention.

Although Hanshin appointed former manager Tomoaki Kanemoto (56) despite his lack of coaching experience, the team suffered the bitter experience of falling to last place in his third year. The club decided to keep him on for the following year and began preparations for a new coaching staff, but Chairman Kado intervened and instructed the then club president to dismiss him. It is said that if Fujikawa does not produce results, he may also face intervention from higher-ups.

Regarding Okada’s resignation, Chairman Kado has stated through the media that he would return the initiative to Hanshin. However, few people within the Hanshin organization take this at face value.

“It is said that even now, when it comes to matters like the manager’s appointment or draft picks, they cannot proceed unless they get Kado’s approval. This will likely remain unchanged. If the results aren’t there, the rumor is that Kado will ‘take control again.’ To avoid that, the new Hanshin must strengthen the team and create a consistently winning organization.”

With various interests at play, how will the new Hanshin organization be reshaped?