Rakuten’s Cheap Meals for Players Draw Criticism
Let’s not pretend anymore. Rakuten clearly does not care about running their CPBL team properly.
From lazy marketing to a lack of initiative in player signings, sloppy day-to-day operations, below-average broadcast quality, and a poor fan experience at the ballpark, the Rakuten Monkeys’ front office has been phoning it in for years. But feeding their own players low-quality meals to cut costs? That is a new low, even for them.
It would appear the players have finally had enough of the ongoing mistreatment and decided to speak out. On 10 April, CTWANT published an exclusive report revealing that the Rakuten Monkeys have been looking for ways to save money in 2025 by firing three of their in-house chefs and switching to cheap takeaway meals for their players.
Serving Oily Vegetables With Almost No Meat
According to the unnamed whistle-blower, the meal portions are small, the food is extremely greasy, and it mostly consists of vegetables with very little meat. There have even been incidents where players found plastic bits in their meals. Over time, the number of players eating the team-provided meals dropped drastically from over 60 to fewer than 20 due to the poor quality. In another report by Liberty Sports, it was revealed that the Rakuten Monkeys are reportedly feeding their players on a budget of just $3 to 4.5 USD per meal.
Soon after the damaging reports, Rakuten Monkeys’ general manager Yoshinori Kawata publicly apologised. He confirmed that there had been a change in how the team meals were handled this season and admitted that there was a lack of proper communication between the team and the players. The team has now realised that the quality of the food did not meet the players’ expectations or standards.
The players, however, told the media that they had already raised concerns about the poor food quality numerous times in the past. But it always felt like one-way communication, as if their voices did not matter. This continued lack of respect has left many of them feeling disheartened, and that is simply unacceptable.
“We are not asking for gourmet meals. We just want a nutritious, well-balanced diet,” the unnamed Monkeys’ player told CTWANT.
Another Poor Quality Food Incident in 2024
This is actually not the first time Rakuten Monkeys players have spoken out about food quality issues. Back in July 2024, SET News published an article stating that players had noticed a sharp decline in the standard of the meals. As there were no photographs to back up the claims, the Rakuten Monkeys denied the allegations at the time.
