pitcher Kohei Arihara (34), who will be returning to Nippon-Ham Fighters for the first time in six years, held a press conference at ESCON on the 13th. Below are the main questions and answers.

-Returning after 6 years.

"I'm really happy to be able to play here again, and I'm excited to play and try to win."

-What is your impression of The Fighters as an opponent?

"He was young and swung the bat hard. He hit a lot of home run, so I thought I was a tough opponent."

-Coach Shinjo would like the teams to play every five days.

"I've always wanted to do it, and I'm the type of player who really wants to pitch a lot of inning, so I'm excited to keep doing it."

-What are your numerical goals?

"I want to pitch as many inning as possible, so at least 180 inning. I'd like to aim for even more than that."

-In America, there's a culture of giving a gift if you're given number.

"That's right. I contacted Iwadate-san and told him thank you. It was a small thing, but (laughs) I did it."

-When he returned to Japan in 2011, he chose Softbank Hawks.

"Until now, I have chosen the team where I thought I could grow the most, so I ended up with The Hawks in that way last time, but I think I was able to grow by experiencing a championship, and I'm really grateful for that. I thought that joining The Fighters at this timing would be the best way for me to grow from here on out, so I continued to make that choice."