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Ikuo Higuchi is a contributor at United World Wrestling and the editor-in-chief of wrestling-spirits.jp, Japan's only wrestling website. He previously served as the editor-in-chief of the Japan Wrestling Federation's official website from 2001 to 2024.
He wrestled during his time at Aoyama Gakuin University -- the alma mater of Kohei Hasegawa, a gold medalist at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. After graduating in 1984, he began his career as a sports reporter for Kyodo News Agency, focusing primarily on Baseball and Sumo. He covered the World Wrestling Championships in 1986 and 1987 while working for the agency.
In 1990, he left the company to take charge of editing the Japan Wrestling Federation's official publication. He transitioned to managing the federation's official website in 2001 while continuing his reporting work. He has covered nine consecutive Olympic Games -- from Barcelona in 1992 to Paris in 2024 -- including reporting from the spectator stands. He also covers the World Championships almost every year.
In 2013, when wrestling faced the threat of being dropped from the Olympic program, he served as the executive committee chair for the "Save Olympic Wrestling" petition campaign, gathering approximately one million signatures.
