PROFESSOR-LED CARE IN ELITE SPORTDossier access · personal handling

After the campaign / RIZAP

Hidekazu Akai & Takuro Morinaga

Later changes among several ambassadors raise questions about an advertising model.

Hidekazu Akai and Takuro Morinaga · RIZAP · Japan · 2015/2016–2018

Public response from the company

Later changes among former ambassadors reach the shareholders.

The case & the HPA perspective
Hidekazu Akai at the Tōka Ebisu festival in Osaka, 2018.Takuro Morinaga, a professional studio portrait.

Hidekazu Akai at the Tōka Ebisu festival in Osaka, 2018. · Photo: Ogiyoshisan · CC BY-SA 4.0· Cropped to suit the layout.

Takuro Morinaga, a professional studio portrait. · Photo: Photographer not credited; portrait supplied by Takuro Morinaga, according to Toyo Keizai · Individual usage licence to be confirmed before publication· Image reference for this local draft; confirm a usage licence before publication.

Editorial portrait. Not a photograph of HPA treatment or a before-and-after comparison.

01 / THE DOCUMENTED EVENTS

What is on the public record.

In 2018, subsequent weight gains of around five kilograms were explicitly compared with the earlier RIZAP transformations. The issue reached the annual shareholders' meeting. Chief executive Ken Seto acknowledged a higher rate of weight regain among celebrity ambassadors, while company communications confirmed contracts that included follow-up care. This does not establish a quantified loss of revenue.

02 / THE SPECIFIC RISK

What this case reveals about a partnership.

When several ambassadors' appearances change, the discussion can move from individuals to the lasting value of the wider offering.

03 / WHERE HPA COULD HELP

Where thoughtful care could make a contribution.

For similar partnerships, HPA could agree long-term aesthetic reviews and clear handovers to the relevant medical professionals. The organisational aim is genuine continuity beyond the photo shoot. Claims about lasting product results require independent substantiation; HPA does not provide its own weight-management treatment or a guarantee against weight regain.

RESPONSIBILITY BEYOND THE CAMPAIGN

What kind of care does your partnership need?

Discuss care for your organisation

04 / SOURCES & CONTEXT

These publicly documented cases illustrate different risks: contract disputes, conflicting advertising claims, interrupted care and later negative associations with a brand. The people and companies are editorial case studies; their inclusion does not imply that HPA has cared for them. Each HPA perspective is a hypothetical application of our proposed services, not evidence that HPA could have prevented the events described.

These editorial portraits identify the people discussed. They may have been taken at a different time from the events in the case study. We draw no clinical findings or conclusions about treatment needs from their appearance.

Engagement, responsibilities and boundaries · HPA Transparency Register