Nippon-Ham of Ryota Isobata outfielder was in Escondido on March 3 for a contract renewal and signed with an up offer.

In his fifth season this season, he played in a career-high 118 games, posting a batting average of .232, one Home Run, and a career-high 25 stolen base, tied for third in the league, while his 10 triple were the most in both leagues. He was named in the opening starting starting line-up and was never demoted to the second team, spending the entire year with the first team. "I gained confidence in defense. To put it dramatically, midway through the season, I changed from swinging the bat from above to swinging from below. I was able to grow thanks to the advice of my boss." He reflected that the major changes to his batting form made during the season, following advice from manager Shinjo, led to his growth.

Starting next season, fellow outfielder and four-time stolen base champion Nishikawa will join the team. They will be teammates for the first time since their first year in 2021. "At the time, it was a little difficult for me to ask him questions, but I learned a lot, and Haruki-san would often talk to me, so I'd like to hear from him again and learn from him." Five years have passed, and he will show evidence of his growth and things he wasn't able to ask back then. "After five years, I've realized that there are things I think are right and wrong, so I'd like to share my opinions with Haruki-san and find out what he thinks about those things, and I'd like to hear more about them, so I'd like to actively listen. Haruki-san has an excellent batting eye, so I'd like to hear about his batting as well," he said, looking forward to the reunion.

He plans to move into a new home in Sapporo by the end of the year and will begin his seventh year in the league next season. "I want to become a regular player. My challenge is batting. Even though I'm not in good form, I want to work on the quality of my at-bats. Becoming number one in Japan with The Fighters is special. I want to be number one in Japan by a long shot next season," he said.