 He was a member of the Japanese Olympic baseball team for the 2004 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal.He led the Pacific League in saves in 2005, and made his 200th save in 2006, becoming the third player in Japanese baseball to reach the mark, after Kazuhiro Sasaki and Shingo Takatsu.After the 2007 season, he became the only pitcher to record 20 or more saves seven straight years.