According to sources, Koji Akiyama, who will enter his 6th year of coaching the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks next spring, will remain at the helm of the ball club. The 5th-place Hawks are currently two games below .500 and sit seven games in back of first place, but Hawks owner Masayoshi Son and owner’s representative Kazuhiko Kasai both agree that Akiyama is doing a good job. Akiyama first signed a three-year deal with the Hawks in 2009 and led the team to back-to-back league titles (2010 & 2011) and one Nippon Series championship (2011). He re-upped with a multi-year contract in the 2011 off-season. Although the length of the contract was never publicized, it was a three-year deal lasting through next season. Despite the team’s current slump, the owners have given him high marks for his track record, which also includes three interleague titles. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, July 19
