On the 26th, Softbank Hawks infielder Akihiro revealed his training with infielder Hotaka Yamakawa in Fukuoka City. While he usually trains with Sho Nakata, who retired in 2015, Akihiro became Yamakawa's apprentice during the offseason and continued training with him until the end of the year. Since the start of the new year, he has worked out with The Giants player Hayato Sakamoto in Okinawa, before rejoining the Yamakawa team.

When asked about the commonalities between the three "masters," he said, "The amount of practice they do is incredible, but their concentration on each ball is even more incredible.Their concentration on the last ball, their technique to avoid making a bad shot, and their way of thinking about practice and the game are all the same."

Regarding the characteristics of the Yamakawa group's voluntary training, he said with a sense of reality, "The physical training is amazing. Sho also does a lot, but I think they're pretty impressive in terms of the amount of practice they do."