it was interesting to see what is happening in front and Twitter linked<\/span><\/strong> and got hooked on in Twitter and chasing the Hakone Ekiden. When I was tweeting while watching the race, I was able to make exchanges through Twitter and watch the race together. That is how people in different ages and professions got together. At one event of the Hakone Ekiden, I called out saying \u201cI booked a little spacious Japanese room at a hotel in Yokohama, so please come and join me after the race.\u201d And so I prepared one case of beer, but to my surprise, 40 to 50 people gathered.<\/p>\n\u2015Maybe one case of beer wasn\u2019t enough?<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000That\u2019s right. It became like a buffet party in the 4 and a half tatami room. That\u2019s when EKIDEN MANIA expressed \u201cI will go over there\u201d! Then too many Otaku (Athletics geeks) who wanted to see the true identity of him gathered together. And EKIDEN MANIA was actually a 20 year old young man.<\/p>\n\u2015So he was surprisingly quite a young fellow.<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000He was a runner until he was in University, and loved Hakone Ekiden that he began to follow it. I met EKIDEN MANIA every week from then. He checks the record of Junior High School students. He was a genius spectator who has fixed in his own mind how that kid turns into an Olympian. I began going to tournaments all over Japan with EKIDEN MANIA. In the meantime, many people began to gather around… Even Suguru Osako\u2019s father was there.<\/p>\n\u2015Wow, even Suguru Osako\u2019s father! So many great members have gathered one after another.<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000Yes. Everyone was tweeting on their own accounts but it came up to post through a unified account rather than each account. That\u2019s how the \u201cEKIDEN NEWS\u201d was created. Each of us had one’s field of expertise, so EKIDEN MANIA posted tweets and pictures, I posted live streaming, and Suguru Osako\u2019s father created the website as he was a software engineer. But this kind of passion didn\u2019t last long, so only EKIDEN MANIA and myself remained. And it was after the Men\u2019s marathon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics that EKIDEN MANIA disappeared from this world…<\/p>\n\u2015What…, what do you mean?<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000I lost contact with him from that day. No one could contact him after tweeting sixth place of Suguru Osako. I have known him for more than 10 years, but the only relationship we had was through athletics, so I don’t know much else about him. I even didn\u2019t know where he lived. I haven\u2019t got in touch with him since then. I have heard that he had a baby so maybe he got busy with raising his child or maybe due to the coronavirus pandemic, he wasn’t able to do any activities as much as he wanted… So my major motivation is to continue EKIDEN NEWS so that EKIDEN MANIA can return anytime.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u2015For the moment, I suppose you would just want to confirm the safety of EKIDEN MANIA?<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000Yes. I used every possible means, but it didn\u2019t work even if I used the Bunshun online to make an announcement which boasts 100 million page views.\u00a0 But EKIDEN MANIA brought me here. He came alone to the World Cross Country Championships held in inland China, and appeared at the track meet of Tokai University on the next day, and also tweeted from the World Championships in Oregon where Suguru Osako participated. He couldn\u2019t speak English at all, but he had the ability to take action. So I am not even close to him yet. If it wasn\u2019t for him, I think I would just be an ordinary Ekiden fan watching in front of the television even now saying to myself \u201cIt was a great race again this year\u201d.<\/p>\n
\nDon\u2019t promote on social media, that\u2019s all.<\/h2>\n \u2015We hope EKIDEN MANIA will safely return…\u00a0 Now I would like to turn to information that you share on EKIDEN NEWS. It seems like it covers all athletics and not limited to relay races and long distances. What standards do you use to share information?<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000We share information that we are interested at that moment. We are often interested about athletes and not events. Not just liking various genres but liking that person.<\/strong>This can be said not just for athletics but also the standard is \u201cthis person is interesting\u201d when watching Rakugo.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe standard is the person \u00a0who had a fascination for at that time.\u2015How did you first become interested or become fond of that athlete?<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000When having the feeling that this athlete is a great one and\u00a0 this person will sure to grow. I kind of understand a person who is likely to grow. I think this is my special ability and I kind of understand if \u201cthis person has an attractive aura\u201d seeing various comedians when belonging to Yoshimoto Kogyou in the past. I fee<\/strong>l something is wrong towards athletes with an attractive aura <\/strong>which means that the level of competition and having an attractive aura is different. It stopped my attention because it felt strange, and seeing that athlete several times, it became clear. <\/strong>It is like outputting that.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u2015I see. That is how you go after athletes. Is there anything else that you make an effort\u00a0 for the management of EKIDEN NEWS?<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000It is to not make viral as much as possible.<\/p>\n\u2015Not make viral? I would think that usually people want to go viral.<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000If I make it an aim to go viral, \u00a0I get caught in the numbers and lose sight of the essentials. If I get caught in the numbers I need to follow it, and the value becomes that it would become better if the numbers are high. <\/strong>I didn\u2019t want that.\u00a0 What\u2019s more, if I go viral halfway, it will be consumed and exhausted soon. It is the skill that I learned when creating the contents for \u201cHobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun (Almost Daily Itoi Newspaper)\u201d by Shigesato Itoi before. It is important to stay motivated. We tend to be obsessed with successful experiences of going viral, and feel like tracing something similar. This is the dangerous part and we need to empty our hearts every day in order to grow, and most of all you get bored easily.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nNot go viral on social media,\u2015Feels like a proverb stuck towards all the web media representative. It is great that you have 110,000 followers in your X account even with the policy to not go viral.<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000I think of those things all the time. \u00a0I think the media often use the X account as an advertising media. But I think people don\u2019t want to see advertisements. You skip through advertisements, but you advertise a lot when sharing information. <\/strong>I just don\u2019t do that.<\/span><\/p>\n\u2015So you share information that athletic fans will like to know without advertising.<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000Not exactly information but more like making all the contents of X account. <\/strong><\/span>The text should be contents and not just catchy ones. It is like a poster which has pictures, titles and a body copy. I am creating so that the contents could become like one complete poster for one post.<\/p>\n\nProgressing with \u201cfavorites\u201d<\/h2>\n \u2015Please tell us about your personal side from here. How did you become interested in track and field?<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000I started jogging when I gained a little weight around 2008. I was planning to run in the Tokyo Marathon, and run in the Kinuta Park. Actually Kinuta Park is like a sacred place for the long distance world, and top Japanese athletes and students from Komazawa University who are Hakone Ekiden regulars are also running during early mornings and daytime when there are few people. One such day, as I felt I have got a good grasp for running, I tried to follow one of the runners from Komazawa University and sadly tore my muscle.<\/p>\nRecreating that moment when he pulled a muscle where \u201ceverything started\u201d.<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u2015I suppose your body could not keep up and gave a shriek.<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000They were really fast. On the following year, as it became an annual event to cheer the Hakone Ekiden runners along the road from my wife\u2019s parents home in Hodogaya, I cheered the runners as well. Actually as I was born and raised in Fukuoka and graduated from Kyushu International University, I had no interest at all. \u00a0But Hodogaya is the second section and this section is often referred to as Leg 2 of Flowers and one Komazawa University runner passed by with great speed in front of me. That was the runner who made me tore my muscle.<\/p>\n\u2015That is such a coincidence.<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000Yes, he was the ace of the team. \u00a0No wonder I tore my muscle. The name of the runner was Tsuyoshi Ugachi. That was beginning from when I thought \u201cHe is awesome. I want to see his race more \u201c and started to go to see the Kanto Inter University Track & Field Championships. Now I am chasing after him who is stepping up his competitive life by entering the Japan Championships and challenging marathon race. In short, it is like \u201csupporting one’s fave\u201d. I want to level up my life along with his.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u2015It is like the feeling of rising together while chasing one\u2019s fave who is working one’s way up very slowly.<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000Yes, it is like working one\u2019s way from the concert venue to Budokan. While I was chasing him, my perspective rose as his perspective rose. <\/strong><\/span>Also, Suguru Osako\u2019s father was present when we started EKIDEN NEWS, so our stage became bigger as Suguru Osako grew bigger. We are working with everybody. As the athletes performance grew, our activities also grew as we went to see it.<\/span><\/p>\nEvery time Tsuyoshi Ugachi and Suguru Osako progresses,\nPlanner, director, and a technician.<\/h2>\n \u2015That is how EKIDEN NEWS grew so much. On the contrary, you mentioned Yoshimoto Kogyou and Shigesato Itoi, we have heard that you also have an unique personal history. Could you tell us about it?<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000After entering Yoshimoto Kogyou, I was the manager of Sanma Akashiya and then I was the manager of Shinsuke Shimada. They both were two different types but my life became so much easier as I saw something amazing for the first time. No matter what you see, it’s normal compared to those two. Also, as I saw the critical point when deciding what to look at and how to judge through the first two, I somehow understood that I had to broaden my horizons to this extent. <\/strong>This led me to my present activities.<\/span><\/p>\nAfter serving as the manager for the leading figures,\u2015If you serve as the manager for the two leading figures in the comedy world, Sanma and Shinsuke from a freshman, it will broaden your field of vision.<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000After serving as the manager for Londonboots 1 & 2 and first manager of cocorico, I moved to the commercial production department, and I was in charge of the \u201cHobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun (Almost Daily Itoi Newspaper)\u201dthanks to having connection with the project of Shigesato Itoi.\u00a0 I started without any particular roles as they told me that \u201cYou will soon get busy\u201d, but creating something from scratch was no longer a pain for me as I was doing many things including general affairs to human resources, launching a new business, event and television program production as the project grew. As I had to do everything by myself, I was a planner, producer and a technician.<\/strong> That style didn\u2019t change even in EKIDEN NEWS. \u00a0It is like placing an order to yourself.\u00a0 I can\u2019t let myself down so I can’t put anything over on someone.<\/span><\/p>\n\u2015That is something you need energy. Talking about creating something from scratch, you created the running race, \u201cOtona.no.TimeTrial (OTT)\u201d in 2013, which has become very popular now. Cross Country race (Kinu-Cro) was held at Kinuta Park last July. \u00a0Is there any new projects that you are planning with OTT?<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000I would like to hold running races all over Japan as there is usually a small park near \u00a0athletics field. If it is a small circuit course, you can cheer the runners several times as they pass right in front of you several times.<\/strong> I think it is really nice. Runners will feel more excited if they receive constant cheering rather than just run in a place where no one is around. Recently I went to a race in London, and there were three DJs in the track. It was very crowded just with the DJs. But I thought this could be possible. It would be nice to have several DJs, supporters, mothers’ chorus group all on the course within the park.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cOTT\u201d popular with runners\u2015It sure looks like it’s going to be a fun race.<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000If this is successful, I think we don\u2019t have to invite celebrities to attract attention anymore. I call it the \u201cMothers\u2019 chorus group theory\u201d. If the mothers\u2019 chorus group participates, the family and relatives will come even if they don\u2019t know about athletics at all. If we invite music bands, many of their friends and fan will come. When people gather and have fun in that way, it would be an opportunity for advertisement and promotion.\u00a0 I would like to create a model case like that.<\/p>\nUsing Instagram to know the athletes and connect to the world<\/h2>\n \u2015Now please provide us your opinion about the World Athletics Championships.\u00a0 What do you think is the meaning of having the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo?<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000It’s rare to find a country where marathons are so popular but track and field is not. <\/strong>Diamond league which is the pinnacle of athletic series will be held in Shanghai, Amoy and Doha this year in Asia but not in Japan. This is probably because track and field in the Japanese market is not considered attractive. I have been to World Marathon Majors (Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York City), but in all the other cities track and field has taken root but not Tokyo. I think WA (World Athletics) wants to firmly preserve the thriving market in Tokyo along with the track and field legacy that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics could not leave without any spectators as it is the same field for marathon and other events. So it would be great if we could use the World Athletics Championships as an opportunity to create a lot of excitement in Tokyo.<\/span><\/p>\n
Can Tokyo leave a legacy in 2025?\u2015As you are good at finding talented athletes, do you have any athletes you are looking forward to or recommend?<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000I don\u2019t know yet. Since it was decided to hold the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, the goal of athletes wasn\u2019t just towards Paris 2024. \u00a0Now there are many athletes aiming to reach their peak in 2025.\u00a0 The next generation of athletes like Nozomi Tanaka and Haruka Kitaguchi have started towards 2025. So new athletes may merge in the process of aiming for Paris or after the Paris Olympics. The results of the young generation currently working hard may not be able to reach Paris in time but they will definitely come out after this fall. I am looking forward to that.<\/p>\n\u2015Talented athletes of the future generation will be shared hereafter in the EKIDEN NEWS.\u00a0 That is something to look forward to.<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000What the fans can prepare towards the World Athletics Championships is to start Instagram. This is because Instagram can connect to the world.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/strong>You can only hear about the competition through the media, but if you follow various athletes on Instagram it will be fun to understand the personality of the athlete, like \u201cThis is the kind of person this athlete is.\u201d You really can directly connect to the world with Instagram.<\/p>\nBuy the cheapest tickets and watch all the events<\/h2>\n \u2015As you have connected track and field with the fans through social media, what do you think of the current track and field world?<\/strong><\/p>\nNishimoto<\/strong>\u3000I think there are more people who want to \u201cchange\u201d. <\/strong><\/span>Although track and field is said to be \u201cold fashioned\u201d, we can see that the track and field world is gradually changing as generations change. That is exciting to see. Tsuyoshi Ugachi who tore my muscle has become the director of Konica Minolta from this spring and those people has actually moved the track and field world. I feel it has gradually become to be an environment where it is easier to do something fun. <\/strong><\/span>TBS, Masato Yokota (TWOLAPS representative director) and myself have started a YouTube channel towards the World Athletics Championships. Given the current context, it becomes nothing more than an advertising for a program, so I wanted to make a solid content. We can only share information that a famous athlete ran just by writing “S\u26061” but we started this YouTube channel to create a place where we can talk more about track and field.<\/p>\n
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