At the beginning of 2005, he was made the Yomiuri Giants special advisor, and the Yomiuri Shinbun sports advisor. He was given the position with a recommendation from Yomiuri Giants owner Tsuneo Watanabe, showing that the rift between him and his former team has healed over time. This is one of the only instances where a mediocre baseball player was given a high position in the Yomiuri organization. He also ran the first Japanese leg of the 2004 Summer Olympics torch relay.