Nippon-Ham pitcher Takayuki Kato entered bullpen in Nago, Okinawa on the 25th. He threw 36 pitches and showed good form.

His earlier-than-usual finishing touches revealed his determination for this season. He threw 36 powerful pitches, including a new cutter that he's been working on since the autumn camp. "I feel like I'm doing a little better than usual," he said, expressing his confidence.

In January, he entered bullpen twice during his off-season training period with his former team, Nippon Steel Kazusa Magic. As he mentioned, in previous years he would only do "short stop pitching," so he was getting into shape early. He set his sights on being in the starting rotation for the entire year, saying, "It's true that I didn't get the results I wanted last year, and I think if I can get results, they'll keep using me. I want to re-establish a spot in the rotation. I had a frustrating experience, so I really want to work hard and not give up."

During the offseason, Arihara, who is in the same year as him, joined the team. "We have (Nishikawa) Haruki and Shimamoto, and I don't think it's often that we have more people (in the same year) at this age, so we're motivating each other. Arihara was the ace at Softbank Hawks. It's good for the team, but if we don't beat guys like that, we won't be able to maintain our place in the rotation. I'll do my best to keep up," he said, revealing a sense of rivalry.