A special conversation between Masaki Suda and basketball player Yuta Watanabe will be held! It will be aired on "Sports!"

■ “We’re all looking forward to it. Please fight with all your might.” (Masaki Suda)

Masaki Suda’s new song “Kujira,” which is included in his third album “SPIN” to be released on July 3rd and has been chosen as the Fuji TV 2024 Athlete Support Song for the Paris Olympics, will be available for pre-order from June 28th.

“Kujira” is the first song written by go!go!vanillas’ Tatsuya Maki (Vocals, Guitar), and is filled with the message that “people who have things they love and dreams should encourage each other with the same perspective as family and important friends, and take a courageous step forward.”

It has now been announced that a special conversation between Masaki Suda and basketball player Yuta Watanabe will be aired on Fuji TV’s “Sports!” from 11:15pm on July 7th.

Watanabe commented on “Kujira” saying, “I liked it from the intro, and the melody is really good. I’ll listen to this song and do my best at the Olympics.” In response, Suda cheered him on, saying, “We’re all looking forward to it. Please fight with all your might.”

Additionally, comments have arrived from athletes who are expected to do well in Paris after listening to “Kujira.”

Ishikawa Kasumi (a three-time Olympic medalist in women’s table tennis), who serves as a special newscaster on Fuji TV, commented, “I think it’s a song that gently pushes you forward, like telling you to do your best. I think it will also push the athletes forward, and as this is my first time trying my hand at newscasting, I’m looking forward to listening to this song to get energy and do my best.”

The song, which has as its motif a whale, a creature that cares for its family and lives a loving life, will be used daily in the “Paris Olympics 2024” segments of Fuji TV programs, as well as during live Olympic broadcasts.

■ Comments from athletes competing in the Paris Olympics who listened to “Kujira”
“It really touches my heart, it feels like he’s speaking to me. It really touches my heart.” (Judo players Abe Hifumi and Abe Uta)

“The lyrics are really good. It gets me pumped.” (Volleyball player Ai Takahashi / The official spelling of “taka” is “hashigo-taka”)

“Oh, that’s great! I’m sure we’ll gain strength, and I hope we can win the Olympics with the power we’ve gathered together like a pod of whales.” (Yuki Ishikawa, volleyball player)

“The climax really stuck in my mind, and I think everyone will be singing it during the Olympics.” (Wrestling athlete, Akari Fujinami)

“Hearing this before a game motivates me to do my best so that we can all smile at the end!” (Basketball player, Evelyn Magua)

“I really love the rhythm, and I want to make it my fight song and listen to it in Paris.” (Breakin’ Shigekix)