On the 11th, 15 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, Rakuten Eagles manager Hajime Miki (48) looked back on that time before the exhibition game against Nippon-Ham (Shizuoka).

The manager, who was a coach for Nippon-Ham' second team 15 years ago, felt a strong tremor while having a meeting with the players in front of the bench after a training league game. He recalled, "I was surprised, or rather panicked. I experienced the Great Hanshin Tigers-Awaji Earthquake in Osaka when I was in high school (Jogyo High School), so I have my own sense of fear of earthquakes, and I remember being worried about the earthquake that had occurred in the Tohoku region."

Fifteen years have passed since that day, and he reflected, "Thanks to the efforts of many people, I feel that Tohoku is definitely moving forward. I will not let the memories and feelings of that time fade away, and I will continue to face them head-on, working hard and persevering to be of help to everyone as a professional baseball team representing Tohoku."