【Part 2】Beyond the Goal of Going Pro: Rui Hachimura and 17 Players Face “Dreams and Money”

Athletic ability alone is not enough to compete on the world stage. As part of the “BLACK SAMURAI SUMMIT 2026” program, which Daiichi Life Group supports as a Diamond Partner, we planned and held a one-hour financial seminar on the theme of “Dreams and Money” on August 6, the first day of the summit. The program was designed to help aspiring professional athletes look ahead not only to their competitive careers, but also to life beyond them. 

To continue competing as a professional and make their own choices about life afterward, athletes need not only skill and the right mindset, but also the ability to think about money. In addition to supporting the players’ athletic challenges, Daiichi Life Group wanted to provide learning that would broaden their future options, and therefore organized the financial seminar. It offered an opportunity to view money not simply as income and expenditure, but as a means of moving closer to dreams and goals. The seminar was led by economist Yoshikiyo Shimamine of Daiichi Life Research Institute. Hachimura also said, “Money is not just paper; it truly has many different meanings. I am very grateful that a seminar like this has been organized.” 

At the beginning of the seminar, Hachimura drew on his own experience to explain why it is important to learn about money from a young age. 

“My family had no money at all. When I was little, six of us lived in a two-bedroom apartment. After leaving college and entering the NBA, money suddenly started coming into my bank account right after I was drafted. But I did not understand what money meant. I had no idea how to use it or what I should do with it.” 

At one point, Hachimura realized that he knew nothing about investments or taxes, and he became anxious. An athlete’s active career is short, while life after retirement is far longer. That realization led him to fundamentally reconsider his relationship with money. 

“I had a financial team put together to teach me about money. In the United States, people say, ‘More money, more problems.’ The more money you have, the more problems arise. I understood that money was important, but I did not understand what it meant.” 

That is precisely why he wants young athletes to prepare before they become professionals, rather than waiting until afterward. Emphasizing this point, Hachimura urged the players to listen to the seminar “as one of the skills you need for a basketball career.” 

Early in the seminar, Shimamine asked the players to write down “yourself ten years from now” on the paper he had handed out. “Your work, where you live, your physical condition, how you feel—anything is fine. There is no right answer, and you do not have to show it to anyone.” After first having them put their dreams into words, he introduced a series of concrete figures. Although NBA players may have the potential to earn hundreds of millions of yen, the amount they can retain for the future varies greatly depending not only on taxes, but also on what they spend their money on and how much they spend. 

And while the average NBA career lasts four to five years, life after retirement may continue for more than 50 years. 

“It is important to learn to decide for yourself what is worth paying for. How will you use your money now to move closer to the person you want to be ten years from now? Whether or not you make that clear determines whether each day is wasted,” Shimamine said. The message repeated throughout the seminar was to make money an ally rather than an enemy, and to use it to expand one’s future. 

The players also took the message seriously. Kenichiro Benedict, who participated from the United States, said, “Learning how to manage money is absolutely necessary. They do not teach it in American high schools.” Shunsuke Miyazato of the Ryukyu Golden Kings U18 added, “Your career after retirement is longer than the time you spend as a professional. I am glad we were able to learn about that in depth.” Chuson Jack Shiratani, a second-year student at Fukuoka University Ohori Senior High School who hopes to compete overseas, related the lesson directly to his own future: “What stayed with me was the discussion of how much money you need to attend a university in the United States.”

In addition to these competitive experiences, the financial seminar prompted the players to think about both their athletic careers and the lives that await them afterward. Our support for BLACK SAMURAI is meaningful not only because it provides an environment in which they can aim for the world stage, but also because it offers learning that expands their future options and empowers them to choose their own paths in life. 

Daiichi Life Group’s purpose is “Partnering with you to build a brighter and more secure future.” Through this sponsorship, we wanted to offer the players not only athletic skills, but also an opportunity to act with intention and choose their own futures. 

Turning dreams into concrete goals. We hope that what the players learned over these three days will lead each of them to their next step. We will continue to support the next generation as they take on challenges and open up new possibilities.