It has been announced that former NHK announcer and Caster Kenjiro Toyohara will be commentating on the "New Zealand vs France" match of the "Rugby Test Match 2025 International Series" to be broadcast live on WOWOW on July 19. This will be his first rugby commentary since retiring from NHK in March this year.
As a sports announcer for NHK, Toyohara was in charge of commentary for Japan's dramatic victory over South Africa in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, a match that was dubbed the "Miracle of Brighton." In the Rugby World Cup held in Japan in 2019, he also commented on Japan's victory over Ireland, and became a hot topic when he said, "I won't let them call this a miracle anymore."
For WOWOW's live rugby broadcasts, Toyohara will be commentating on the New Zealand vs France match on the 19th, as well as Argentina vs South Africa (October 4th) from The Rugby Championship, a competition between the four strongest countries in the southern hemisphere that begins in August, and Wales vs Japan (November 16th), a highly anticipated match from the Autumn Nations Series 2025 to be held in November.
Toyohara commented, "This will be my first rugby commentary since the Rugby World Cup in 2023, so combined with the fact that it will be my first rugby commentary since my retirement, I can't contain my tension and excitement. I think that people who watch rugby on WOWOW are probably more discerning rugby fans than those who watch on terrestrial TV, so I would be happy to work with the commentators to create a broadcast that will satisfy these fans while also attracting new fans in time for the Rugby World Cup in 2027. Thank you in advance."
The broadcast schedule for the matches for which Toyohara will be commentating is as follows:
"Rugby Test Match 2025 International Series" = "New Zealand vs France" (Pre-live streaming on WOWOW On Demand from 3:50 pm on July 19th, broadcast and streaming on WOWOW Live and WOWOW On Demand from 9 pm on the same day)
"Southern Hemisphere Four Nations The Rugby Championship" = "Argentina vs South Africa" (from 9:00 pm on October 4th *Scheduled, subject to change) ▽ "Autumn Nations Series 2025" = "Wales vs Japan" (from 2:25 am on November 16th *Scheduled, subject to change)
