Nippon-Ham infielder Kotaro Kiyomiya (26) sent a message of support to WBC Samurai Japan player Kitayama on the 13th. Speaking to his teammate, who is the same age as him and a close friend in his private life, he said, "The farm team starts early in the morning, so I'm usually asleep by the time Kitayama is pitching, and I don't get to watch much of it. But I can catch up on it through Instagram and Netflix, so I do watch it. I hope he stays injury-free." He showed concern for the right-handed pitcher who will be competing in his first WBC.

Furthermore, regarding the "tea-making pose" devised by Kitayama, he said, "I wish more people would do the tea-making pose (laughs). He worked really hard to come up with it, so I really want everyone to do it." Before the game against the Czech Republic on the 10th, Hanshin Tigers 's Morishita called out, "Lately, I feel like everyone has been slacking off on the tea-making pose, so let's do it with all our might, whether we're in the dugout or on base, and liven things up together," and Kiyomiya Yuki expressed the same sentiment.

Even so, because he knows Kitayama well, he didn't forget to deliver a sharp retort, saying, "I can't really accept that he's become known as a serious character. He's just pretending to be serious (laughs)."