Softbank Hawks Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo held a pre-season press conference at Mizuho PayPay Dome on the 26th, together with Nippon-Ham manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo.

When the conversation turned to the significance of the opening game, manager Shinjo said with great enthusiasm, "This year, I don't think of it as just one of 143 games. I have strong feelings about this year, so I'm going into it with the intention of winning the first six games." On the other hand, manager Kokubo commented, "Last year we lost the first three games of the season. We managed to bounce back after that, and of course the opening game is important, but right now I feel more strongly that it's just one of 143 games." He revealed his feelings the day before the opening game in a calm tone.

Last season, when they achieved back-to-back league championships and became the best team in Japan, they failed win single game in the opening three-game series against Lotte at home, and were in last place as of May 3rd. Looking ahead to their first three-peat since moving to Fukuoka, manager Kokubo said without pressure, "Of course we'll do our best to win, but we've also experienced that things don't always go so smoothly. Of course, we want to get wins as soon as possible, but we have the experience of last year when we couldn't do that even though we wanted to." He is taking a long-term view of the season.