Before Rakuten Eagles-Softbank Hawks game, singer-songwriter and actor Akimitsu Nakagawa sang the national anthem.

Akira Nakagawa commented through the team, "The other day, I had the opportunity to attend a gathering of the Miyagi Prefecture Association, and I was thinking about expanding my activities in my hometown of Miyagi and Sendai. It was a great honor to be given the opportunity to sing the national anthem at Rakuten Eagles' Tohoku opening game. I was very nervous because I could feel how much the fans were looking forward to this Tohoku opening game, but the weather improved and I was able to sing the national anthem without any problems, so I hope it will be a good start to the season. We people of Tohoku feel that we are getting strength from Rakuten Eagles players. We are looking forward to another great game this season!"