Harold Meij was interviewed by Highlighting Japan on taking the role of New Japan Pro-Wrestling President and goals for the promotion in 2019. After taking the position in May, Meij hopes to instill a new philosophy as the company embarks on international expansion.
Here are a few highlights of the interview, which can be read in the link above:
Meij on what he sees NJPW becoming in the future:
“As a child, I could easily enjoy pro wrestling on TV because it did not require any linguistic knowledge and was a source of great entertainment. Several years ago I began going to New Japan Pro-Wrestling matches as a fan. I accepted this position because I was intrigued by moving from a business of ‘things’ to one of ‘experiences,’ and would be able to use my business skills in a field I find fun.”
On NJPW and Japanese Wrestling translating to a larger audience:
“We have over 100,000 subscribers on our video channel, and almost fifty percent of them are outside of Japan. When foreign subscribers visit Japan and attend a New Japan Pro-Wrestling match, they tend to share their experience on social media. So that more people get a deeper understanding of the sport and connect with the wrestlers, we put matches up on YouTube, including videos of the wrestlers themselves, their training scenes and videos of matches with English-language versions of the stirring, perfectly-timed announcements made by the Japanese pro-wrestling announcers.”
