Wakatsuki Kenya Wakatsuki, catcher Orix Buffaloes Buffaloes and Japan's representative for the WBC, expressed regret at the end of Matsui Hideki's encouragement visit. Before the training camp (Sunmarine Miyazaki), he had expressed his desire to become Matsui's disciple in terms of batting, saying, "He's a player I've watched since I was a child. I'd like to talk about all sorts of things with Godzilla-san," but due to nervousness, he was unable to fully express his feelings. "I didn't get to hear much... It was just the most trivial things. Like, Orix Buffaloes 's training camp is in Miyazaki, right?'" he said with a wry smile.

His preparations seem to be going well, and when his teammate Soya strained his pitch in bullpen, he smiled and said, "You were throwing better pitches during Orix Buffaloes training camp. I told you, 'What are you nervous about?'" Wakatsuki himself was also honest about his first appearance in the WBC, saying, "I'm nervous too..."