A circle of friends connected by goo touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On October 4, YouTuber Kaito Ogawa appeared on the show, introduced by Japan’s only cheering song producer JIN TOSHIO. We asked Ogawa, who is active on three YouTube channels, “Jaikiri,” “Powerful Spirits,” and “Zako ga YouTube hajimemasu” about how he became a YouTuber, why he joined “Powerful Spirits,” and what he does.
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My goal is to change the baseball world
Celeina (MC): Joining us today is YouTuber Kaito Ogawa, who was introduced to us by Japan’s only cheering song producer, JIN TOSHIO. Please give him my best regards.
Takano (MC): Mr.Jin said that you were giggling. I felt your aura the moment you came into the studio.
Ogawa: Thank you very much!
Celeina: Let me introduce you to Kaito’s profile: He was born in 1996, has been playing baseball since elementary school, and after graduating from college, he joined YBC Kashiwa. Currently, he is a YouTuber with the goal of changing the baseball world while also being a member of the “Powerful Spirits” baseball influencer team.
Takano: Changing the baseball world is a pretty big goal, isn’t it?
Celeina: What exactly do you want to change?
Ogawa: I’m just saying that to be cool. I started this project in order to look back on others, and it seems like I’m just taking advantage of the situation (haha). But baseball is an industry where all kinds of rumors, both good and bad, circulate. I think I am the only one who can change that, and that is why I am doing this with this goal in mind.
Takano: So that’s why you became a YouTuber.
Celeina: Why did you choose YouTube?
Ogawa: I also wanted to become a professional baseball player. However, I chose YouTubing because I thought it would be the closest to my goal of changing the baseball world, because I needed to be influential, and because there are things I can’t say if I am restricted by adults.
Takano: I see what you mean, it makes sense.
Ogawa: It’s just a little bit cool like that.
Takano: Everyone wants to cheer for you, don’t they?
Ogawa: You should cheer them on!
Celeina: And you are now active on three YouTube channels, right?
Ogawa: Yes, one is my own, the second is “Powerful Spirits,” which you introduced earlier, and the third is a newly created channel called “Zako ga YouTube hajimemasu” with my Powerful Spirits’s baseball friends.
Takano: Kaito, your own channel is called “Jaikiri”. What kind of channel is this?
Ogawa: It mainly focuses on baseball only, and we are thinking of a baseball channel that has never existed before. We want to change the baseball world, and we want people from all walks of life to be interested in baseball, so we are not only doing baseball, but also baseball and variety shows.
Takano: Is Jaikiri a giant killing?
Ogawa: Yes, it is. I like the term giant killing. I think it’s a good name for a feeling of crawling up to the top or something like that.
Takano: I see, it’s very glittering.
Celeina: As expected. Kaito, is this really your first radio appearance? I can’t believe it’s your first appearance.
Ogawa: Do you have a sense of style?
Takano: I feel like I have a sense of style.
Celeina: What year did you start YouTube?
Ogawa: I tried various YouTube sites, but I started “Jaikiri” just about a year ago.
Celeina:That’s recent.
Ogawa: That’s right.
Takano: I had a little look at it. Did you start the “Zako ga YouTube hajimemasu” channel a week ago or something?
Ogawa: About a week ago, we decided to “let’s do it”.
Takano: I like your light footwork.
Ogawa: I trust my instincts.
Takano:It’s important to have the ability to act.
Celeina: Was the reason you were selected for “Powerful Spirits” to increase the number of channel subscribers?
Ogawa: That was part of it, but “Powerful Spirits” has seasons, and I watched the first season as a viewer. I thought, “Why didn’t they choose me? I have a talente.” I applied to be in the selection process and was accepted. I am really grateful to the people above me.
Takano: What kind of team is it?
Ogawa: It is a baseball channel run by a group of influencers under the leadership of Kimiyasu Kudo, who won the SoftBank championship. So there are people who are much more famous than I am.
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Playing against a team led by Yuki Saito and hitting a home run
Celeina:I heard that you played against a team led by former professional baseball player Yuki Saito at ESCON Field HOKKAIDO the other day.
Ogawa: I got to play the other day.
Celeina:You were the starter and even hit a home run.
Ogawa: Yes. You became a star that day.
Takano: A home run in spite of being a pitcher.
Ogawa: They call me the Otani of softball, just kidding (haha).
Takano: How was ESCON Field HOKKAIDO where you stand as a player?
Ogawa: It was a lot of fun. It was the most exciting experience of my life, or rather, a very valuable experience.
Takano: Is the scene also uploaded on Powerful Spirits’s channel?
Ogawa: Yes. That video has grown a lot, and it seems that quite a few people are interested in “Powerful Spirits”. It is probably still up on YouTube, so I would like to invite anyone who is interested to take a look.
Celeina:I hope you will search for “Powerful Spirits”. Now I would like to send you a song around here. What song did you choose, Kaito?
Ogawa: It is a song called “Eien wo Owarasete” by HaruKamirai. I like the straightforward lyrics, so I hope you will listen to it.
Celeina: Let’s listen to the song.
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What I gained from belonging to Powerful Spirits
Celeina: Kaito Ogawa selected the song “Eien wo Owarasete” by HaruKamirai. As mentioned earlier, you are a member of “Powerful Spirits”. Is there anything you have learned from being a member?
Ogawa:As I am doing YouTube, I can’t help but get caught up in the numbers.Most of the people who belong to PAWASPIRITS are doing YouTube, but everyone’s top priority is to create something interesting, so I learned a lot from them. I learned that there are reasons why things sell.
Takano: You spend a lot of time thinking about the audience in various ways. Also, since all of your teammates are influencers, what kind of people do you belong to?
Ogawa: Some of the more famous ones include Ko-kun from “Nakonako Couple” and Ida channel, a current Kyoto University student. If you look at the number of subscribers, there are channels with more than 40,000 to 500,000 people, and I have 10,000 subscribers, so please subscribe to my channel! (haha)
Takano: Everyone who is listening to this, by all means.
Ogawa: We have comedians, and it is a very diverse channel.
Celeina: I see. I want to check out “Powerful Spirits”.
Takano: As I mentioned earlier, Kimiyasu Kudo, the former manager of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, is your manager, but what kind of interactions do you actually have with him?
Ogawa: He treats me normally and is really friendly. I am the type of person who thinks that it is not good to respect people too much, but I think that Mr. Kudo is the most respectful adult I have ever met.
Celeina: What do you respect about him?
Ogawa:I think that if you are at Mr. Kudo’s level, you are in a position where you don’t have to treat us influencers with the level of baseball and love. But he really looked at each of us individually, and I thought it was great that he had a way of teaching that suited each person.
Celeina: So they give love to each and every one of us.
Takano: This story makes me see “Powerful Spirits” in a different light more and more.
Ogawa: I am sure of it.
Celeina: And I hope everyone will check out “Jaikiri” as well.
Takano: We also have a “Zako ga YouTube hajimemasu” channel.
Ogawa: The name is hard to recommend. I hope you will watch them all.
Celeina:”FIST BUMP” is a circle of friends connected by goo touch ! So, you have introduced your friends to us. What kind of people will you introduce to us, Mr.Kaito?
Ogawa: I would like to introduce my teammate in “Powerful Spirits”, a comedian named Boshimax.
Celeina: Your teammate.
Takano: A comedian.
Ogawa: They are in thier first year, but they has an aura about them, and I think they will definitely sell. I’d like to give them a big push.
Celeina: It sounds good. Did you meet them at “Powerful Spirits”?
Ogawa:Yes. He is a good guy at heart.
Celeina:In a word, how would you describe him?
Ogawa: In one word, energetic. That’s all.
Celeina:So you two are energetic, thank you very much. Tomorrow, I will connect you to Kanayan-san and Seigi-san from Bosimax. Today we welcomed YouTuber Kaito Ogawa. Thank you very much.

GRAND MARQUEE

J-WAVE (81.3FM) Mon-Thu 16:00 – 18:50
Navigator: Shinya Takano, Celeina Ann