First of all, please tell us about your job as an athletic trainer. What is it like?

This is a job that involves health management, physical training, and conditioning to ensure athletes perform at their best. I am in the position of protecting the lives of athletes, and also providing emergency treatment and athletic rehabilitation.

Does that mean it's a national qualification?

It's a national qualification in the United States. In America, a country where sports are very popular, the position of athletic trainers is highly regarded. You will study abroad at a four-year university (currently graduate school is required), and then take the national exam and take the national exam.

After studying abroad, I will become a trainer for the Japanese national team for the seven-person women's rugby team, how will it be?

When I was an athletic trainer in the United States, I thought, "When I return to Japan, I want to be involved in women's rugby." So, the boss in the United States was trainer for the US national rugby team, and at that moment, I realized that seven-sided rugby would become an official sport from the Rio Olympics, so I decided that I would "Let's meet again in Rio," and that I would "come to become a trainer for the Japanese national team when I return to Japan," so I returned to Japan in 2011. So, I just got a public call for trainers, so I applied...

amazing. It happened soon after I returned to Japan. How was the public selection conducted?

They were invited to each camp one by one and had a practical examination in the form of a practical interview.

What kind of person do you currently work as a trainer?

I'm still involved with the Japanese women's rugby team, and I'm also involved individual jiu-jitsu players and powerlifters. He is involved with athletes from various sports. At first, I watched it by both men and women, but now I'm only watching it for female athletes, in order to specialize in what I'm good at. I'm working hard to get people to say, "Hirai, when it comes to supporting female athletes."

Currently, he is also running a company that trains and trains and dispatchs female trainers. What was the process of starting the company?

When a child was born and it was difficult to get into the field as a trainer, I thought about how I could contribute to society, and instead of working hard on my own, I decided to start a corporation in 2022 to train and dispatch trainers.
There are quite a few sports trainers that can be thought of as volunteer-based. However, if that were the case, trainers wouldn't be able to eat, so we chose to use a corporation rather than a general incorporated association so that it would be popularized as a "job that receives money as a professional."

What kind of place will the dispatch location be?

There are individuals and sports teams and other organizations. Recently, there has been an increase in temporary staffing services that provide childcare services that incorporate unique athletic programs at venues for sporting events.

This service is really good. Not only is it a great help for the audience, but it also allows the organizers and the child-rearing generation to come, and it also helps to develop future fans.

In addition, the players and the venue staff can also leave their children there. I hope that the audience, players, and staff will no longer be able to say things like, "I can't do it because I have small children."

I think you work as a manager and a trainer, but what proportion of each worker is working?

My ideal is to increase my movements as a manager (lol), but the current situation seems to be half-hearted. In addition to providing training guidance, I am often invited to lectures, and I am also a part-time university lecturer, so I still have a lot of work on my own.

Part-time lecturers too! What topic will you give a lecture?

I often talk to students at vocational schools and universities about things like "for women to work in the sports world," and at symposiums and seminars about things like "the knowledge and skills necessary to support female athletes," such as menstruation and postnatal return support.

He even gives lectures and teaches, so I think he is working very busy, but how about supporting your husband for housework and childcare?

My husband is good at cooking and laundry and cleaning, and he mainly works remotely, so he is happy to accommodate his work even when it's late at night. It seems like the child will put him to bed is difficult because he says "mom is good" (lol)

This time, I brought you a memorable item with your child, so could you please show it to me?

This one! My daughter (5 years old) drew it for me. My daughter loves to draw and draws something every day. So, my husband used the painting I drew on Mother's Day as a badge.

amazing! That's lovely!

He always draws pictures with a smile on his face and says, "Good luck with your work," and gives them to me. I'm sure I'm getting pretty angry (laughs). This badge is my treasure.

Do you really want your children to play sports?

yes. I don't know what I'm interested in, so I try to get people to experience as much as possible in various sports and take them to various experiences. The ultimate "do" and "don't do it" are left to the person himself. I have a lot of children raised from the perspective of an athletic trainer, and I think it would suit climbing in terms of personality. I'm secretly hoping that they'll take me to the Olympics by bouldering (lol).

Not only are they pursuing the path of being a trainer, but they also now raise their children and train them...I think they are doing quite powerfully, but what is the root of this driving force?

I have had a big experience of having trouble keeping up with the changes in my body when I was pregnant and gave birth. When I was saying, "Oh, my back hurts," the thing I knew as a trainer would say, "If I do this, it should be fine," and I was surprised, "Oh, the pre-natal care of my child is a little different." In particular, it was extremely difficult even though I was attending graduate school when I gave birth (laughs).
However, there was not much research into postnatal care in Japan, so I read the literature myself from overseas and came across something like, "Oh, this was what I should have done," and "Oh, I shouldn't do this." Fortunately, I was able to study abroad and read English, so I was able to collect overseas papers and information and learn on my own, but I was unable to do so and thought that there were many women who were struggling, so I started thinking about consolidating them and being able to teach them.

You said this in a simple way, but did you go to graduate school after studying abroad? What's more, you're raising your children, right?

Yes (laughs). Originally, my life plan included "going to graduate school while pregnant." It was very difficult since I was pregnant with my first child until I gave birth to my second child while working as a graduate student (laughs).

That's amazing... Did you also do research as a trainer at graduate school?

yes. He mainly studied trauma and disorders in women's rugby. In the future, I would like to study pre-natal exercise. There are really few research into prenatal and postnatal studies of athletes, and there are very few in Japan, and a few in the United States and Canada. While using these as a reference, I would like to collect data on exercises that are suitable for the Japanese body.

I think this is a hugely beneficial presence for female athletes raising children, but are there many such comments?

I often receive such comments. In the first place, the male/female ratio of trainers is said to be 5:1, and female athletes are usually given male trainers. Therefore, it is often said that "I can now talk about anything with peace of mind." Also, there are many cases where even female trainers don't know much about menstruation or postpartum training, so I hope that more research will expand.

Can I take my baby to train during postpartum training?

Of course, we are very welcome! Rather, I would like to see the baby too. You can leave your baby in a stroller or mat, or you can also join in as a weight training weight (lol).

Finally, please tell us about your future outlook and what you would like to share with us towards society.

I want to make sure that women involved in sports don't give up on what they want to do. We want to create a society where there are a variety of options and you can choose them yourself. Not only athletes, but also coaches and trainers, there are quite a few women who say they can't continue once the child is born. To prevent this from happening, we hope to create an environment in which, in the soil of sports, even if you have children, you can go to the field if you wish, and even without children, you can use your strengths as a woman on the field.