"New Year's Dream Battle 2026: Kinashi Noritake's Sports KING!", a "dream sports showdown" produced by Tunnels' Noritake Kinashi, will be broadcast on TV Asahi from 5:00 PM on January 2, 2026. Kinashi, who has close ties with athletes, will use his connections to bring together current top athletes, legendary athletes, and celebrities who are good at sports. A battle that transcends genres will unfold.
The events announced this time include "Track and Field Showdown," "Smash Shooting," "Tug of War Showdown," and "Table Tennis Showdown." "Team Kinashi Kazushige," consisting of Kinashi and Nagashima Kazushige, will compete against "Team Shuzo," led by Matsuoka Shuzo.
Team Kinashi Kazushige will be joined by Shinnosuke Mitsushima, Kinniku-kun Nakayama, and Obata no Oniisan, all of whom boast speed from the entertainment industry. Team Shuzo will be joined by Shinka Kitaguchi, a gold medalist in the javelin throw at the Paris Olympics, Rashid Murata, a member of the Japanese 110-meter hurdles team who placed fifth at the Tokyo World Championships, and Hiba Uzawa, who anchored the 400-meter relay at the Tokyo World Championships.
During the track and field demonstration, Team Kinashi Kazushige was overwhelmed by the leg strength of Muratake and Uzawa. Then Kinashi announced, "We've got another amazing helper!" and jockey Yutaka Take, a legend in the Japanese horse racing world with over 4,600 wins, appeared. Furthermore, Yutaka Mizutani, dressed as Ukyo Sugishita from the TV drama "Aibou," also appeared as a witness.
In the "Smash Shooting" competition, where participants aim for high scores by hitting badminton smashes into a target placed on a shooting gallery, former table tennis player Kasumi Ishikawa will be joining Team Shuzo as vice-captain. The Shidamatsu pair (played by Chiharu Shida and Nami Matsuyama), bronze medalists in the women's doubles badminton event at the Paris Olympics, will make a one-night "comeback" to join the team. Also appearing will be the "strongest table tennis siblings," Tomokazu and Miwa Harimoto, as well as Wolf Aaron, a gold medalist in the 100kg judo event at the Tokyo Olympics who has since turned professional wrestler. Team Kazushige Kinashi will be joined by Akane Yamaguchi, who won three world championships in women's singles at the badminton World Championships.
Yamaguchi and Kitaguchi faced off in the third round of the singles at the 2009 National Elementary School ABC Badminton Tournament, and rare footage of the two from that time will be shown. This will be their first "direct confrontation" in about 17 years.
In the tug-of-war, Wolf Aaron, who is determined to "not train half-heartedly. I'm going to knock him out with all my strength!", will face off against Nakayama Kinniku-kun, Michio "Tom Brown", a first-degree Judo holder with a back strength of 300 kg, and Ozuru Fuyotoshi, known as "Mama Tart", who weighs approximately 195 kg and is known as the biggest man in the entertainment industry.
Team Kinashi Kazushige will be joined in the final table tennis match by new helpers: Japanese table tennis legend Jun Mizutani, as well as siblings Sora Matsushima, who won his first All Japan Table Tennis Championships in 2025, and Aira Matsushima, who are said to be the next generation of Olympic hopefuls.
