Earlier this month; specifically on the day of our Emperor's Cup opening round press conference, a situation occurred outside of our press room in front of many reporters and witnesses, prompting many questions and requests for a formal explanation. We respectfully asked for patience in dealing with the matter, but some blogs and sites have gossiped and speculated; creating what has been dubbed the "Norihiro Akashi Incident." While the situation is largely a private matter, these unverified reports and unfounded rumors have forced us to make a rather delicate situation public.
For those unaware, Norihiro Akashi is an amazing pro-wrestler who ascended to the top of the company most of our collective roster came from prior to our formation: Pro-Wrestling FURY. Akashi was trained by Kazuma Fujita, and was poised from his debut to become Ace of the company. He was a natural Supernova, and was a talent of which we hadn't seen in several years. While not a hulking physical specimen, Akashi had a technical mind far more mature than his experience would indicate. He naturally rose to the top of FURY's ranks by the end of the company's run. When FURY formally ended, Akashi was offered the same invitation to join our new struggle as everyone else.
When FURY ended, there were two distinct groups of people. One group would go on to pursue their individual interests, while the second group would go on to create KJPW. While I can't speak for Akashi personally, he had made it perfectly clear that while he didn't consider himself apart of the first group, he was unsure about coming with us to form KJPW. I'm unsure of his reasons, but I know this caused a deep strain with several wrestlers; many on the KJPW roster. We had repeatedly tried to recruit Akashi to join our campaign in the weeks leading to our first show. However, because of frequent trips to the United States and Europe, it was difficult maintaining communication. It eventually became clear that he would not be apart of our vision.
On March 7 immediately following our press conference, I was alerted to the altercation, which took place in the lobby of our offices. According to witnesses. Norihiro Akashi walked into the lobby and reportedly asked where the press room was located. Naturally, our staff members know who Akashi is, and word spread within minutes of his presence. He was first asked to wait until the press conference concluded, but reportedly became uncooperative at that point. Akashi's shouting caught the attention of several KJPW wrestlers, which unfortunately only escalated the situation. As CEO, I tried my best to diffuse the situation, and take full responsibility for any damage this incident has caused to our reputation.
Akashi has refused my repeated attempts to contact him. In doing so however, he is sparing me from telling him the seriousness of the matter.
We are still unclear of Norihiro Akashi's motives. However, it is clear that his presence is less than desired among our rosters. While it is our policy to open our doors to all outsiders; friendly or otherwise, it will not be at the sake of my roster's morale and trust. Until tensions have eased -- or at the very least, Akashi can learn proper professional courtesy, he is not welcome in Kingdom of Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Shigesato Ishiyama
CEO, Kingdom of Japan Pro-Wrestling
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