A program featuring singer Eikichi Yazawa, "NHK MUSIC SPECIAL: Eikichi Yazawa x Ichiro- Our Failures," will be broadcast on NHK General TV from 9:30 pm on September 15th. This will be the first time in about 20 years that Yazawa will have a conversation with Ichiro, a former Major League Baseball player who has been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The main theme of the discussion will be "Our Failures."
The last time Yazawa and Ichiro had a conversation was in 2006, when they discussed "The Philosophy of a Hero."
"I was burdened with 3.5 billion yen in debt. I thought I couldn't make it. But I've paid it back," says Yazawa, who continues to sing, performing 150 times at the Nippon Budokan (Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo) and a live concert for 120,000 people at the New National Stadium (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo). This fall, he will be the oldest person ever to perform at the Tokyo Dome (Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo). He has also completed his first album in six years, and at 76 years old, he is still a "rock star of challenges."
Meanwhile, Ichiro regretted, "I promised to play until I was 50, but I retired at 45..." but in August of this year, his uniform number 51 was retired in Seattle, USA. In his Hall of Fame speech, he said, "I hope people don't take their talent for granted," and even six years after his retirement, his passion for baseball still burns brightly, as he continues to work up a sweat on the field with young players and high school students.
Ichiro nodded deeply in response to Yazawa's words, "If I stop, I'll die." Behind success lies failure, regret, and the strength to get back up again. The 90-minute conversation revealed the true essence of the two men's lives.
