Questions from the fan:
Lately, I have noticed that your body is getting nicer. You said, " I am not a person who is into sports." However, there are rumors that you are working out to build your body... Would you write about "Goro Inagaki and Sports" which is somewhat of the strange combination. (Yoshiko, 29 years old)

Sports- what will you imagine from this word? It can be the Yomiuri Giants, the Japanese professional baseball team, which is not doing well this season; or Matsuzaka, who is a 19 years old professional baseball sensation. The Japanese kept playing baseball even during World War II by avoiding the use of English baseball terminology which were considered as the language of the enemy. The Japanese have great passion for the baseball.

Japanese are also into the professional succor. Even after the World Cup, the Nakata fever still continues while many professional succor players did not make it. (Nakata is a professional succor player who plays of a team in Italy.) Besides watching the ball games, most of us are involved to some kind of sports.

Being sweat and pumping the brain chemicals up, playing some sports is ,in some sense, bringing us to the state of mind which is away from our daily life. We escape from our reality when we play sports. We can forget everything and get exited while we play sports. Sports are in deed a very momentary escape from the reality, isn't it? That's me who always think things in a destructive way. I understand the entertainment nature of sports, yet, I never interested in any sports and never did anything for last 25 years.

However, you may be surprised to know that my family, the Inagaki family, is very much in sports. My father Makoto played basketball and went to No. 3 at the national tournament when he was in high school despite his 173 cm (5'8') height. My mother Ayako was playing a catcher in the mothers softball team till just about 5 years ago in her neighborhood. My older sister Megumi, was swimming 25m in only about 18 seconds when she was in the 6th grade. She also delivered her baby boy in a very short time.

Why was I, Boy Goro, was not interested in any sports despite growing up in such a sports oriented family? The answer is very simple. As a child, I did not like and I was not good at playing any sports. In addition, I was not good at working with others in a cooperative manner. I just couldn't do things like reaching to a goal while working with others. Obviously, when it comes to the ball games, my mistake could course lots of trouble to others. I could not bear with "joint responsibility" and "the sport team attitude". Especially, I could not stand with the idea of having sweaty physical contacts which is more like getting into crowded sauna or bath.

I know many of your are wondering why on the earth I am in the group which has S=sports in its name. I don't know why either...Nevertheless, I am going to gym and being an early bird marathon runner. These are strictly the individual sports which will not course any problem to anyone. Recently, Mr. Shiro Sano, who also doesn't do any sports, found out my sports activities. He was quite shocked.