Hattori has been active in pro wrestling since the 1970s, and is one of the longest tenured members of the New Japan roster, having made his first appearance in 1982.
His first run would be short lived, as he followed longtime associate Riki Choshu to Japan Pro-Wrestling, his new offshoot promotion in 1984.
While working there, he also briefly appeared in All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he received more advanced referee training under highly respected senior official Joe Higuchi.
After the promotion collapsed after less than a year in operation, he returned to New Japan in 2004, working as a foreign liaison officer and occasional referee.
[5][6] The final match he refereed was Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii) against Los Ingobernables de Japón (Sanada, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito).