United Japan Pro-Wrestling

Background

On April 15, 2020, due to the self-imposed restrictions of events in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Takaaki Kidani, owner of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Stardom through his company Bushiroad, led a delegation of representatives from seven promotions^[a] to send a formal request for compensation for business suspension to then House of Representatives member Hiroshi Hase (an NJPW alumnus himself), the Japan Sports Agency, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.^[4][5] This led to the formation of the Cross-party Pro-Wrestling and Martial Arts Promotion Parliamentary Group^[b] in the House of Representatives on November 19.^[6]

Founding

Prompted by Hase's call to establish a unified commission of wrestling promotions and recognizing the necessity for collaboration between the government, local authorities, and the wrestling industry, an organization was formed by nine promotions owned by six companies; those promotions were NJPW, All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Pro Wrestling Noah, DDT Pro-Wrestling, Ganbare Pro-Wrestling (GanPro), Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), Dragongate, Stardom and Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (TJPW). The United Japan Pro-Wrestling (UJPW) group was announced to be established on December 15, 2023. On May 6, 2024, a launching event was scheduled to be held at the Nippon Budokan.^[7] The inaugural chairman was Seiji Sakaguchi, a former wrestler, president and current advisor of NJPW, and the secretary-general was Naoki Sugabayashi, the current chairman of NJPW.^[8] While maintaining healthy competition among the industry, the organization aims to provide a space for exchanging opinions and information regarding common issues within the professional wrestling industry. By doing so, it intends to ensure the industry's image enhancement, foster sustainable development, and address shared challenges. UJPW also plans to welcome additional member promotions in the future.^[9] UJPW's inaugural event, the 2024 edition of All Together, was held on May 6 and also served as a charity event to benefit the rebuilding of the Noto Peninsula following the January 1 earthquake.^[10]

Expansion

On July 17, 2024, UJPW held a general meeting in Tokyo, where Kyushu Pro-Wrestling and World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana were admitted into the association (as an observer member in the case of Diana).^[11]

On January 20, 2025, it was announced that UJPW would restructure as a general incorporated association with Sanshiro Takagi as its representative director, and Sugabayashi, Ryo Saito and Ryota Chikuzen as executive directors.^[12][13] On June 11, the board of directors had a second meeting. At this meeting, they accepted Pro Wrestling Freedoms as a new full member. They also approved Pro-Wrestling Dradition, World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana, and Pro Wrestling Wave as supporting members.^[14]

On February 17, 2026, Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling's Meiko Satomura and Pro Wrestling Freedoms' Takashi Sasaki were appointed as directors.^[15] On March 31, it was announced that UJPW would hold a new event titled "Face the Next" on May 12 at Shinjuku Face – before the closure of the event hall scheduled for September 30 which was announced earlier that month – featuring younger talents from NJPW, BJW, Noah, DDT, Dragongate, Kyushu Pro, Freedoms and GanPro.^[16] On June 29, at the fourth general meeting, Diana was upgraded from supporting member to full time member, while Gleat was admitted as a new supporting member.^[17]