*machine translation, inaccuracies exist*
2026.01.30
https://the-ans.jp/news/626510/2/
https://web.archive.org/web/20260130032736/https://the-ans.jp/news/626510/2/
“¥54.2 million donated — Yuzuru Hanyu: ‘We’ll take care of the amount on our end.’
A tasteful gesture that turned anxiety at his local rink into ‘hope’.”
Also lending a hand with the ice resurfacer’s battery problem
Mr. Hanyu has continued making donations and carrying out support activities aimed at the promotion of the sport, and the total amount he has donated to his hometown rink, Ice Rink Sendai, has exceeded ¥100 million. This time, to Bell Sunpia Miyagi Izumi, he donated not only a large sum of money but also a battery for the ice resurfacer (Zamboni).
The battery had been in use for over 20 years, and “its charge did not last well, limiting the number of times cleaning could be done in a single day,” but the donation also played a role in improving work efficiency.
Mr. Baba spoke with animation in his voice:
“The battery replacement is huge. Before, we could only ride it about four or five times, but now we can use it more than ten times. That removes a lot of anxiety, and it’s become an environment where the maintenance staff working on site can do their jobs with peace of mind. We’re really, truly grateful.”
With regard to the ice resurfacer, the facility had also been facing another issue. The skating rink operates from October to March, and every year it receives exclusive-use reservations from the skating federation and ice hockey federation, with schedules decided well in advance. However, Mr. Baba revealed:
“Every year, we operated after getting everyone’s understanding that ‘if the ice resurfacer breaks down, we won’t be able to continue operations.’”
By pushing the heavily deteriorated battery beyond its limits, there had in fact been cases in the past where the ice resurfacer broke down. The concern that they might no longer be able to provide practice venues to the various organizations has now been dispelled by Mr. Hanyu’s donation activities, and Mr. Baba said,
“He really has done something incredible for us,” his words of gratitude unending.
Inside the facility, Mr. Hanyu’s autograph is displayed, and fans from China and the United States who discover it on social media sometimes come to visit.
“If nothing like that were here, they probably wouldn’t come to our place,” Mr. Baba said with a laugh, while being unable to hide his surprise at the increase in name recognition.
With improvements to the skating rink environment now underway, a light of hope has been lit for the future. Next month, the Milan–Cortina Winter Olympics will begin. Mr. Baba expressed his expectations, saying:
“When there’s an Olympics, quite a number of customers tend to come, so I hope that more and more people will increase their use of the rink.”
(THE ANSWER Editorial Department / Akira Hashimoto)