The younger Saito became an official instructor of the Iwama dojo in 1986 and remained so until 2004 when he separated from the Aikikai organization and formed his own group.

His father spent his last years taking care of the vegetable gardens and travelling abroad for seminars.

[citation needed] In 2000, he inaugurated his own dojo, the Tanrenkan (鍛錬館), sponsored by his father Morihiro Saito.

Today he teaches full-time at his own Tanrenkan and travels constantly inside Japan and around the world, instructing at seminars attended by hundreds of aikido students each month.

His wife and children also practice daily at his dojo, and in 2016 his sons began teaching Aikido seminars internationally.