Takaki Kato: Leading Japanese Basketball as a Referee

Thank you very much.

My middle school was just an ordinary public school, and we were one step away from making it to the Aichi Prefecture tournament. I was really lucky to get into Ohori, but once I was there, I was constantly overwhelmed by the difference in level. It was a place I felt I could never reach.

That's right. He was truly a star among stars. I was more of a second- or third-string player, and since my knee injuries had already started back then, I couldn't really perform as a player as much as I wanted. As a team, we were in the top eight at the Inter-High School Championships and finished third in the Winter Cup, though.

The first time was in high school. However, at that time, I didn't get an MRI or anything; I just kind of managed to get by.

Yes. After entering university, I felt something was wrong and got an MRI. It turned out only one-third of my ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) was left, and eventually, I even damaged my meniscus.

At that exact time, the team was looking to dispatch someone to the Gakuren (University Basketball Federation). I wanted to continue as a player, but I changed my mindset, thinking that building a network there might be a way to stay involved with basketball for a long time, so I retired as a player. That's when I put on the referee uniform and started refereeing.

That's true. At that time, Professor Otani, you weren't the director yet. If you, a renowned knee specialist, had become the director one year earlier, my knee might have been completely cured, and the current me might not exist (laughs).

I took a training course for certified referees at the Gakuren. When I went there, there was no successor in the referee department. A senior said to me, "If you're from Ohori and now at Keio, you should be able to referee, right?" I borrowed a whistle from a fellow referee and started in the summer of my second year of university. That was the start.

My advisor in middle school was a certified referee. He kept a rulebook right behind the driver's seat of his car. I remember looking at it while traveling and seeing things like, "Oh, there's a disqualifying foul in basketball that leads to immediate ejection. This is how you do the signal."

I might have had an interest in the world of referees just by watching their behavior and wondering what kind of world it was.

To be honest, I do. Referees also have to pivot and change direction at top speed. In fact, I went to Europe recently, and an NBA point guard would steal the ball and go on a fast break.

I have to outrun him and get deep behind the line quickly, so it's quite physically demanding. I have to take proper care of my knee by icing it after every game.

The main reason was that while I was at the Gakuren, I got a taste of basketball management, and I had a sense of the problem: how could we manage basketball—which hadn't yet seen the light of day compared to other sports—in a more positive way?

If I hadn't done this research, I probably wouldn't have been able to become an international referee or an S-class referee today.

It was truly helpful. The methodology of refereeing that I found for myself by interviewing Japan's top referees is so useful that I can still use those research results on the court today. I still share the essence summarized from those interview results with my partners in pre-game meetings.

I still think it was good that I did this research, and for example, if I could generalize this more, I think I could give back to even more people.

It was my second year as a working professional. I got my A-license the year I joined the bank, and the following year, I became an AA-license (now S-license) holder and an international referee.

When I first joined the bank, the level and number of games I officiated weren't that high, and I was only sent overseas about once a year, so I didn't feel much difficulty in balancing the two. However, it became tough once I started handling the top league.

The level of attention on basketball increased overwhelmingly, and within that, the quality level required of referees also rose. So, before officiating one game, I would watch more than 10 videos of that team's matches to input the characteristics of the team and players into my head. I would go into the game with a plan, thinking, "In this team, with these members, this kind of tactic is possible, so I should position myself like this to referee.". Since I usually handle games on Saturdays and Sundays, I spend the five weekdays researching by watching about 10 to 15 game videos.

When that happens, I absolutely need time to watch the games. My days consisted of finishing work, coming back from the gym, watching two to three games while eating dinner, and then going to work the next morning. I felt that balancing the two was quite exhausting.

Giving a solid impression through training is actually very important. You don't need a referee for obvious fouls or obvious violations.

A referee is needed where the respective teams cannot settle things themselves. If we blow the whistle, someone will feel they were "called," and if we make a no-call judgment, someone will feel they "didn't get the call." Dissatisfaction is bound to arise there.

In response to that, there are situations where simply blowing the whistle correctly is difficult. Whether it's right or wrong, it's natural for someone to be dissatisfied. So, while making correct judgments, elements like "when to blow," "consistency with previous plays," and "how to express yourself and communicate to move the game forward after blowing" become necessary.

Especially to proceed with international matches smoothly, the referee's physique and facial expressions become very important.

Exactly. For example, if the gyoji (referee) of sumo, a traditional Japanese sport, were a foreigner, what kind of impression would the audience have?

It's the same. When I stand on an overseas court, I think it's natural for the audience to potentially think, "Wait, does Japan even play basketball? Is it okay?" Furthermore, no matter how correct the judgment is, if that person looks scrawny and weak, it won't be convincing.

That's right. The fact that judgments are always correct is, conversely, becoming a given. Especially now that it's an era where people can enjoy basketball through video, it's important to make correct judgments while also gaining acceptance on the floor.

It's a vote by coaches, players, and the media.

I think it's truly a grateful thing. In terms of attracting attention, I also feel responsibility and pressure.

Being the Best Referee or a professional referee is an honor, and of course, I'm happy, but when we stand on the court, we are background figures; we are not the main characters. I think it's best if, when the game ends, people think, "Oh, who was the referee today?"

It's definitely a good thing for Japanese basketball that good players go into environments where they can concentrate on basketball, but when considering a player's second career, I don't think easily deciding on a path like "Well, then basketball" is always a positive.

On the other hand, if everyone says, "My life is important, so I won't play in the top league," that would be sad for those involved in basketball.

Personally, the few years I spent working at a bank as a professional and learning various things there have become a very large asset as the base of my life. No matter what kind of work you do in the world, the flow of money follows you.

Both of my parents were former All-Japan basketball players, and I think they showed me their own struggles in a sense while presenting the bank as an option for me. Of course, my parents gave me advice on job hunting, but more than that, they showed me through their actions what kind of career path an All-Japan player takes after retirement.

On top of that, it might be that I chose basketball as my life plan.

I think anyone can reach a certain point—domestically, the level of officiating in the B.League—as long as they have the passion. The JBA provides guidelines, and since it's a world where you can see a lot of video, you can study refereeing based on that.

From there, becoming a top referee or being active overseas raises the hurdle a bit, but I think the most important thing is how much time you are willing to devote to basketball. I'm currently in the middle of trying to see how far I can go as a referee, even though I was disappointing as a player at Ohori and Keio. I believe that if you make an effort, anyone should be able to reach a certain level.

That's right. So, in a way, it should be systematized. This time, I am walking a path as a professional referee, which didn't exist before, but I don't think I should be special in the future.

Unless people like this become the norm, we can't say that Japanese basketball has improved.

I might say, "There are 13 people who can stand on the court, not 10." If the B.League gets even more exciting domestically, you can stand on the court in front of 10,000 or 20,000 spectators.

If you face basketball with all your might as a player in middle and high school, and if by any chance that path is cut off but you still love basketball, it's too early to give up. The path of a referee is just as attractive as being a player and is a job worth pouring your passion into.

If I could stand on the court in the future with a kid who says, "I started refereeing after seeing Mr. Kato become a professional back then," that would be wonderful.