A former professional baseball player for the Hanshin Tigers and native of Yosano in Kyoto Prefecture recently returned to his roots -- this time in a rice field.
Yoshio Itoi, whose physical prowess during his playing days earned him the nickname "Superman," took part in a rice-planting activity on May 2 in Yosano's Ishikawa area, as part of an ongoing initiative to support local children.
Itoi, 43, has been working with the local agricultural corporation AGRIST to tackle a decline in both the farming population and youth participation in sports.
Through this partnership, Itoi has spent the past two years helping produce and promote a premium brand of Koshihikari rice known as "Superman Rice."
A portion of the rice's sales is used to purchase sports equipment that Itoi personally delivers to local elementary schools.
During the activity in Ishikawa, Itoi skillfully operated a rice-planting machine under the guidance of AGRIST representative Keishi Ota, carefully planting seedlings across approximately 10 ares of land.
He showed genuine commitment to the work, frequently looking back to inspect the field throughout the process.
After completing the planting, Itoi shared his hopes for the future.
"It would make me happy if children from our community grew up strong and became famous local athletes."
