Kazuhiro Kiyohara talks about his “bond with his sons” and how his “two sons’ hard work gives him the strength to live

The man who appeared in a hotel suite in central Tokyo that day stood in front of the FRIDAY reporter, 188 cm tall, weighing well over 100 kg, wrapped in a heavy suit, with a sharp look in his eyes and a grim expression on his face.

The relationship between Kazuhiro Kiyohara, 57, and FRIDAY is deep. The “Bancho Nikki (Diary of a Boss),” which appeared regularly from May 1997 to May 2003, was a well-known project that was published in book form due to the popularity of Kiyohara’s style of writing, which began with the phrase “Oh, yay!

More than 20 years have passed since the series ended, and we asked Kiyohara how he looks back on those days. He began to talk quietly as he quenched his thirst with an iced coffee from the room service.

I think I should appear on FRIDAY for the first time in a long time,” he said.

I was still very much on top of things in my personal life,” he said. But I felt that the fans in the world were happy to see me.

At first, we were quarreling, but as the series progressed, I had mixed feelings. There were times when I was angry, “FRIDAY, you’ve gone this far! and there were times when I was angry, and there were times when I thought, ‘Well, that’s good. No, it’s not good (laughs).

It is true that we had a “take-it-or-leave-it” relationship, and there were times when I discussed it with the reporter at the time and told him, “I want my privacy, too, and I have teammates now, so don’t come in from here. I also thought that by having me photographed, it would be better if the other players were not photographed.

What is certain is that I am the athlete who has appeared in FRIDAY the most (laughs). (Laughs.) This time, too, FRIDAY is celebrating its 40th anniversary, so I thought I would appear in the magazine for the first time in a while.

When a reporter worried about Kiyohara’s health, who felt that his voice lacked the vigor it had when he was still active and engaged in a “fight” with FRIDAY, Kiyohara’s face twisted slightly.

What do you want me to say? I’m fine!　I had diabetes, but my blood sugar is under control now. My knees still hurt as usual, but they are under control. ……

I have refrained from drinking alcohol, but after my father passed away in March 2011, I started to drink to the extent that I don’t get drunk to drown out the loneliness. I drink barley shochu with barley tea. If I drink it with green tea, the caffeine in it makes it hard to sleep. ……