Thank you for your efforts to further develop and spread Budo Karate.
This is the first message for 2018, and I hope that all of us will have a great year. In Japan, we are in the middle of a cold winter. The media provides us with daily news of the Winter Olympics being held in PyeongChang, South Korea. I wish all of the participants the best in their performance at the event. While receiving courage and strength from the participants, the recent cold weather makes me look forward to the coming of spring. I hope all of you are doing well in your country and region.

I visited Guam (Branch Chief Chris Biolchino) last month for my first overseas trip of the year, and I enjoyed the hard training, comfortable climate, delicious food, and the dreams we shared in our discussions. The Guam Branch has many family members, and I was impressed by the strong kiai and smiles of the energetic children. They also value the bond between people. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Branch Chief Chris, and all of the branch members for their kind and warm hospitality. Thank you for everything.

As WKO, we will hold our annual Grading Exam on March 4 in Tokyo, and we currently have over 50 examinees, mainly from Japan, Europe, and Russia. I hope that this will be a milestone in your lifetime training, and an opportunity where you will be able to objectively reflect upon your training until now, what goal you will pursue in the future, and experience such results. I wish all of you the best in your preparation for the exam. Especially for the Branch Chiefs and Contacts challenging for the higher grade, I hope that you will devote the time you have left to further improve, so that we will see a high level of spirit, technique, and body at the exam. Such attitude and mindset of the teacher, will be a silent lesson for the students, so please do your best.

The application has started for the 1st International Fullcontact Karate Championship organized by the Japan Fullcontact Karate Organization (JFKO), which is mainly led by the WKO Japan Region. Since this tournament will be a big first step in the worldwide standardization of Full Contact Karate, I hope that many competitors from around the world will participate in this event. The success of this tournament will be the key to the further development of Full Contact Karate. I also wish for many Branch Chiefs and Contacts to attend the tournament in Osaka, observe the event, and take this big first step towards success all together.
In order to further promote Full Contact Karate at the world level, your help will be more necessary than ever. Let us join hands, and in strong unity, promote the greatness of Full Contact Karate around the world.