Smile and Live. —A former world boxing champion talks about cancer and life

“In the old days, I was mom’s boy and crybaby. My mother worked at night, so she wouldn’t be home when I woke up in the morning. I was very lonely and cried a lot,” Shinji said.

He told us that he was still a crybaby in elementary school. As he and his brother were alone at home at night, his apartment became a hangout spot for friends. He says that those around him considered him to be badly behaved and that he often felt lonely.

However, such a boy dared to become a boxing champion and went to Tokyo by himself. Shinji said, “I went to Tokyo when I was 16 years old. The hardest thing for me was being homesick. We didn’t have mobile phones like nowadays, so I would need money to make a phone call. When I made a call from Tokyo to Hiroshima, I would use up 1,000 yen in no time.”

It was also hard for him to both work and box at the same time. He told himself, “It would be embarrassing if I left here now. I could never leave,” so he did his best.

In his second life that started from scratch, Shinji appeared on TV variety shows after many twists and turns, gaining popularity. When he was diagnosed with bladder cancer at the age of 42, his life changed forever. “Although the doctor said that some cancer marker levels were high, I initially didn’t know what he meant.”

In fact, he felt physically uncomfortable and kept going to the hospital for tests many times. Initially, no abnormalities were found. He said, “When I passed blood again, I went to the hospital. Then, I was told that some cancer marker levels were high in a test. At first, I laughed bitterly, but soon my mind went blank with despair.”

He said that he was lonely and found being in the hospital difficult, so he even asked his wife to let him spend his ‘last days of his life at home’. His wife was a great supporter. “Before the disease, we fought many times and, to tell the truth, didn’t get along with each other. But she took care of my diet, and we became very close. I’m definitely doing well thanks to my wife,” he said.

“Recently, I have often been consulted for advice from people with cancer or other diseases. Although I told them that I can’t do anything, they seem to feel relaxed just by having me listen to their story,” Shinji describes.

He advises people who come to his gym to always smile, be positive, take care of their diet, and keep their body warm. He says, “I was causing trouble for people when I was young, but sometimes I feel like listening and being there for others is my way of giving something back...”

Currently, he trains the students at his own gym and cherishes every day—sometimes he goes golfing with his wife and goes on a family vacation. He also says, “I have come to believe that we have to go to the hospital by ourselves regularly when we get older.” To prevent metastasis and recurrence of cancer, he still tries to take a blood test once every 6 months and an endoscopy and colonoscopy once every two years.

Shinji said, “There’s only one thing that’s certain in life — that life will come to an end for all of us. It could happen at any time. That’s exactly why, I believe it’s better to live positively, to enjoy life. To this end, I would like to live each day with a smile.”

The continuing bucket list includes the big dream of producing Japanese and world boxing champions from his gym. His expression shows his innate fighting spirit, which has carried over from the time when he won the world title.