<figure id="attachment_463856" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-463856" style="width: 791px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="62ab3ad3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/d7a6146c222fdcaf7d895f2ea7bfbf48.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-463856" class="wp-caption-text">Former professional boxer and National Public Safety Commissioner Akama</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Overcoming Weaknesses</h2>
<p> The world S-bantamweight unification bout to be held on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome is attracting worldwide attention as the &#8220;fight of the century.</p>
<p> The main event will feature Naoya Inoue (32), a boxing treasure in the Japanese boxing world who no longer needs any explanation. Junjin Nakatani (28), who is challenging Inoue, also has immeasurable strength, having won the unified bantamweight championship last June and being ranked 7th in the &#8220;Pound for Pound (PFP)&#8221; ranking of the best boxers in all weight classes.</p>
<p> Both are undefeated in 32 fights. The best challenger against the best champion in the history of Japanese boxing is exciting, but it is difficult to predict the winner.</p>
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<p> We asked members of the Diet, who spend their days in Nagata-cho fighting for power, to predict the outcome of the climactic battle.</p>
<p> First, we asked National Public Safety Commission Chairman Jiro Akama (58), who has fought in the ring both professionally and as an amateur. When we asked him what he predicted the winner would be, he fell silent for a moment with his arms crossed, then squeezed out the following words.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> It&#8217;s difficult. The more I think about it, the more I don&#8217;t know who will win.</span></p>
<p> Akama began boxing at Rikkyo University and started competing in official fights in his second year. In his senior year, he won the league championship as vice captain. He was a key figure in the promotion of the Rikkyo University Boxing Club from the third division to the second division.</p>
<p> After graduation, he studied in England and worked as a secretary for his father, a member of the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly, while attending Yokota Sports Gym. He made his professional debut in July 1998 after obtaining his professional license at the age of 30, just short of the age limit for professional testing at the time. He retired after losing a four-round decision to Sojiro Kato (48), who later became Japan&#8217;s welterweight champion.</p>
<p> In 2005, he ran for the 14th district of Kanagawa and was elected for the first time. He became a member of the Diet. He has served in the Cabinet Office and as Vice Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, and in October 2013, he joined the Takaichi Cabinet for the first time as Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission.</p>
<p> When we asked the &#8220;Boxer Minister&#8221; how the match was going to unfold, he stood up quickly from his chair and struck a fighting pose. He had a reporter of this magazine positioned in a southpaw style, and, while making him look like Nakatani, he demonstrated Inoue&#8217;s signature up-and-down, left-right combination from a step-in.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Boxing is a &#8220;distance game,&#8221; and it is important to be able to fight at your own distance. Nakatani is a tall southpaw. Inoue, who is orthodox, is usually difficult to fight. However, Inoue was not good against tall southpaws early in his career, but he is not struggling against them now.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Nakatani will use his long reach and will probably use his right jab to keep him in check. Inoue will want to miss the jab, step in, and aim for the left body. Inoue&#8217;s step-in speed is unusual, but Nakatani also has the skill to meet him with a left uppercut.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In the early stages of the fight, it will be a matter of which fighter hits the jab first. The rounds continued to be breathless as both fighters measured the distance, angle, strength, and timing of their punches and engaged in sophisticated offensive and defensive exchanges. Both fighters have high technique, speed, and are good at countering. They are also very flexible in terms of distance and how they build their fights. I see no difference between the two fighters, so I think the fighter who is in better condition on the day of the fight will win.</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The former Chief Cabinet Secretary plans to be on site to watch the match."></div>
<figure id="attachment_463858" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-463858" style="width: 1010px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="fa0ab8be"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/d17415c26637a379d78e4d18d1378d11.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-463858" class="wp-caption-text">Kato is president of the Professional Boxing Congress.</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Couldn&#8217;t beat him on the counter.</h2>
<p> Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, 70, who is the chairman of the Professional Boxing Congress and will be watching the fight at the Tokyo Dome, smiled and <span class="strongInContent">said, &#8220;This is truly the match-up of the century, and I am looking forward to it.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I believe that Inoue has the advantage in controlling his opponent and controlling the development of the fight,&#8221; Kato said.</span></p>
<p> As Kato said, the ability to analyze and control an opponent is important for a boxer. After the bell rings, he observes his opponent&#8217;s hand speed, punch extension, range, step rhythm, and stride length. He processes in his mind various items such as the differences between the video images he saw beforehand and the movements of the player in front of him. He formulates a strategy to take control of the match.</p>
<p> Inoue&#8217;s ability to read a fighter, to make him punch as he reads, and to counter &#8211; such strategic knowledge is also a part of Inoue&#8217;s ability to read a fighter. Mr. Kato continued.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In front of Inoue, neither champions of other organizations nor world-ranked fighters can develop their game at their own pace. His opponents also read his moves and try to break the pause, but Inoue has created the entire development of the match in most of his fights. Inoue&#8217;s boxing is royal and he never lets his guard down against any opponent.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Nakatani, on the other hand, has not been able to control his opponent as well as Inoue has, and I am not sure if he will go all the way to KO, but I see Inoue winning by decision.</span></p>
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<p> Junko Mihara, 61, former Minister of State for Children&#8217;s Policy, has been watching boxing for 30 years and claims to have <span class="strongInContent">been &#8220;at the venue&#8221; to watch</span> Inoue and Nakatani&#8217;s fights. The most recent fight was between Inoue and Luis Neri (31) at the Tokyo Dome in 2012, which she watched live.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I think it&#8217;s Naoya,&#8221; he said.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_463862" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-463862" style="width: 994px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f91b313c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/ffb76a01cedfc869d6c2faf08bed00f1.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-463862" class="wp-caption-text"> You should go for the body.</figcaption></figure>
<p> When asked about the reason for his immediate response, he analyzed that <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;Inoue has proven himself in the S-bantamweight division, but Nakatani has not yet adapted to the S-bantamweight division.</span></p>
<p> Last December, Nakatani fought in Saudi Arabia for the first time after moving up to the S-bantamweight division, but struggled. He picked up a hard-fought decision victory with a swollen right eye.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Nakatani was good at both distance and close range, and was a powerhouse until he moved up to bantamweight. However, I think he faced a &#8220;class barrier&#8221; when he moved up one weight class. In his most recent fight in Saudi Arabia, his opponent did not go down with counters that would have taken him down at bantamweight, and it is doubtful that he has the stamina to fight a full 12 rounds at S-bantamweight.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> On the other hand, Naoya has adapted to the S-bantamweight division and is probably at his peak now. Nakatani is only in his second fight at S-bantamweight, so there are still some concerns. If he loses stamina in a weight class he is not used to, Naoya might beat him at the end of &#8230;&#8230;.</span></p>
<p> Mihara, who has watched Inoue&#8217;s many world fights live at the venue, praised the champion.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The sound of his blows is different from those of other fighters. The sound is different from other fighters. It is like a sound that resonates in your stomach. Not only his punching power, but also his speed and technique are of a different dimension. I can&#8217;t imagine Naoya losing.</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Opposition heavyweight shown by Tatsuyoshi"></div>
<h2>The Key to Victory</h2>
<p> Masayo Tanabe, 56, secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan&#8217;s Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, has been fascinated by Joichiro Tatsuyoshi, 55, who was called the &#8220;charisma of the Heisei era,&#8221; and has been watching boxing since the early years of the 20th century. Whenever there is a boxing event in Hachinohe City, his constituency, he goes to the venue, and he also frequents Korakuen Hall.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Inoue is very good at controlling his opponents by quickly grasping the distance and the distance between them. However, Nakatani is a southpaw, over 170 cm tall and has a long reach, so it is unlikely that he will be able to find the right distance quickly.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In the end, I feel that persistence and a strong desire to win will make the difference between victory and defeat. In this sense, Nakatani came to the U.S. by himself at the age of 15 and polished his fists in Los Angeles without going to high school or college, where he could have entered with a sports recommendation. Nakatani may be the only one who can threaten the matchless champion.</span><span class="strongInContent"> I am very happy to be here.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_463868" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-463868" style="width: 1017px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="79b25f63"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/44ad9abb2943fd654ca39bf2a967b18c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-463868" class="wp-caption-text"> Mr. Tanabe, Secretary General of the Rikkyo Democratic Party, who got hooked on boxing because of Tatsuyoshi.</figcaption></figure>
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<p> When Nakatani moved to the U.S. at the age of 15, he knocked on the door of Rudy Hernandez, a master boxer. Rudy emphasized realistic fighting and did not let him hit the sandbag unnecessarily. His sparring is unique and hard, as he fights fighters in a much higher weight class, fights with only one right hand, and fights while being backed into a corner.</p>
<p> Nakatani&#8217;s uppercuts are usually struck with his fists back, but at times he keeps his fists vertical and strikes while slipping through the guard. Nakatani is a &#8220;reimported boxer&#8221; whose unconventional and wild style of boxing is very appealing.</p>
<p> In contrast to Inoue, an elite boxer who won seven high school championships, Inoue has attracted attention since his amateur days, and when he joined the Ohashi Gym, he made an unusual request: &#8220;Please let me fight a strong fighter. Two boxers who have taken different paths to the top will soon meet.</p>
<p> Mihara and Tanabe, oddly enough, muttered the same words.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I want them to fight, and I don&#8217;t want them to fight.</span></p>
<p> On May 2, the first black star will fall on either boxer, who has accumulated 32 white stars.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Political boxing connoisseurs"></div>
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<figure id="attachment_463869" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-463869" style="width: 838px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="98ee5e93"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/20d207575ad20095291d3e9308a6d073.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-463869" class="wp-caption-text"> The fighting pose looks good.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_463870" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-463870" style="width: 956px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6d6de4d4"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/84ee273e116b00aa6969517e469ef95f.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-463870" class="wp-caption-text"> He has been watching boxing for 30 years.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_463871" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-463871" style="width: 1007px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="bbbb38fb"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/21d0edfe4a423f0f644eee80afc22ffe.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-463871" class="wp-caption-text"> Prediction in favor of Inoue</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_463872" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-463872" style="width: 1108px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="25495467"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/833012b8b07c621c69677b971e3e0429.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-463872" class="wp-caption-text"> Nakatani is the only one who can beat Inoue, the strongest champion in the world.</figcaption></figure>
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 Daisuke Iwasaki

 Less than a month before the clash between Naoya Inoue and Jyunjin Nakatani, the fight of the century is drawing the interest of politicians who are engaged in daily power struggles. Here are the predictions of former professional boxers, members of the Boxing Congress, and 30 years of experience in watching fights!

Jiro Akama, Katsunobu Kato, Junko Mihara, and Tadayo Tanabe, &#8220;boxing experts in the political world,&#8221; make big predictions for Naoya Inoue vs!

Jiro Akama, Katsunobu Kato, Junko Mihara, and Tadayo Tanabe, “boxing experts in the political world,” make big predictions for Naoya Inoue vs!

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