On the 26th, Ritsumeikan University pitcher Gaku Arima (22), who was selected as the second-round draft pick by the Softbank Hawks, received a visit at the school's Suzaku Campus in Kyoto City from Ryutaro Fukuyama, Assistant General Manager of Player Development and Amateur Scouting Chief, and Homare Inamine, Amateur Scout. Arima is a high-caliber left-hander who set a new tournament record by recording 10 consecutive batters struck out during last autumn's Meiji Jingu Tournament. He pledged, 'I am well aware that the competition is extremely fierce. I believe that because I am joining such a club, there will be many opportunities for me to grow. I want to make the most of this environment where I can develop and do my best to succeed on the first-team stage.'

The club presented him with a luxurious set of signed balls from Chairman Oh, Manager Kokubo, and CBO Jojima. Chief Fukuyama sent a message saying, "We highly value his aptitude as a starter. I want him to compete with pitchers like Yugo Maeda and Haru Matsumoto to build a left-handed pitching kingdom." He expressed high expectations, citing the young left-handers who are also pitching in the Japan Series. Arima responded, "There are many other left-handed pitchers. I think the competition will be very intense, but I want to break into that group and show my strengths. I am really looking forward to competing with them."

Gaku Arima. Born July 29, 2004, in Tawaramoto Town, Nara. 22 years old. He began playing baseball with the Hirano Pirates (rubber-ball) in his first year at Hirano Elementary School. He played for the rubber-ball baseball club at Tawaramoto Junior High School. At Aichi Institute of Technology Meiden High School, he joined the varsity roster in the summer of his first year. In the summer of his third year, he reached the quarter-finals at Koshien as the team's ace. At Ritsumeikan University, he contributed to the team's first league championship since the spring of 2019 last autumn. He has appeared in a total of 52 games, with a record of 15 wins and 17 losses, and an ERA of 2.48. He stands 175 cm tall and weighs 80 kg. He is a left-handed pitcher and left-handed hitter.