New Japan Pro Wrestling named a new President back in May. Dutch businessman, Harold Meij, was given the role. At NJPW’s show in Osaka Jo Hall recently, Meij appeared in the ring to address the fans.

“I will work with all my heart so that you fans can feel a stronger sense of inspiration, and enjoy yourselves even more,” Meij said. “I would like to take New Japan Pro-Wrestling to the next level.”

The 54-year-old recently sat down for an interview with Japanese media outlet, the Mainichi. He explained why he chose to address the crowd in Osaka.

“I think there are long-time fans that must be worrying, ‘What? The operator is a foreigner? What’s going to happen?’ Because I look like a foreigner, you know?” Meij said. “They worry that New Japan might change. I wanted to come myself as the president and talk with the fans to alleviate any anxiety they might have.”

Meij would continue to say that 40% of the subscribers to New Japan World are from outside of Japan. Currently, the promotion has 100,000 subscribers to their streaming service.

“I want to expand the fan-base regardless of age, gender or nationality,” Meij explained. “New Japan has fantastic content, so it has the possibility of picking up popularity overseas. At the moment, there are some 100,000 registered members on our video streaming service ‘New Japan Pro-Wrestling World,’ and 40,000 of them live outside Japan. I would like to aim for the international market with things like videos in English or events for foreign tourists.”

Meij continued to say he plans to become a pioneer of sports marketing.

“Even though there are a plethora of markets abroad, many Japanese companies aren’t making any use of them. As someone not bound by language or cultural barriers, I would like to become a pioneer in sports marketing.” Meij continued. “In three years at least, I will achieve profits of 10 billion yen. The figure is close to the 10.2 billion yen made by the Japan Sumo Association in 2016.” He continued, “I will continue to show up at more and more matches because I have to judge the reactions of the fans for myself. To that end, I will speak with fans whenever I have the chance.”