[citation needed] In 2003, he played alongside high-school sluggers Kentaro Nishimura and Yuta Shirahama to win the championship for their school.

[citation needed] In his second year he was selected to participate in the Asia AAA Baseball Championship where he won the Top Defensive Player award.

During the 2004 National Invitational High-school Baseball Tournament, he served as team captain and played catcher.

[2] In the sixth inning of a Hanshin vs. Samurai Japan practice game on February 26, 2013, he collided with left fielder Hayata Ito while chasing a ball hit by Hayato Sakamoto.

[5] His first appearance following surgery was on August 29 against the Giants in the Tokyo Dome, where he played third baseman for the first time.