Hey guys, not trying to be difficult here, but as this poster mentioned, that is the way the Japanese media works.
I have been a professional angler for several bass magazines, and am currently still a writer for a fishing newspaper. As I mentioned, I@was given a ton of info from my media and fishing contacts with the condition that I release only the weight, length, angler, and Lake caught (ie..the press release for the TV interview ). If I were to breach that confidentiality, would get pretty much "kicked out" of the system. Pls. respect my position and conditions of confidentiality of details that Mr. Kurita wants to release himself.

I thought people in America, especially California, would be happy to hear the news, as I was. Wrong. I got emails that the weight was a fraud, that the fish in the two pics was different; people even made ridiculous (sorry, that is that way I see it) comments how it sucked that the pending record was caught in Japan.
I don't care if it was caught in S. Africa, I would have nothing but congratulations and high fives for the angler, whether he be black, Japanese, or a Californian.

I reported the facts that came from press releases, the Japanese media, the Japanese Fishing Tackle Industry, and regulars that were there when the fish was caught and weighed.
As I mentioned, the two most important requirements, the weight, and that the fish was legally caught (not snagged, etc.) appear to have been me.

Perhaps the only other major piece of info that has not been released by Mr. Kurita was what it was caught on. As was posted, Mr. Kurita is in the business of selling lures, specifically one that has gained a lot of attention the past 2 years--the "Mother".
Don't you think that if he caught the fish on his own creation (the Mother) he would have said so in the TV interviews?
The is a@reason he did not; let's give him a chance to tell his story the way he wants to tell it and in a time frame that is acceptable to him.

I have seen him on the lake, and he is as serious as they come. He has been hunting this, and several other big fish for months. Although he likes to catch big fish on his own lures, he is prudent to know when to use something else. He is especially adept at one method, and that is what he caught this giant on. After he discloses this, and if you have some understanding of bass fishing in Japan, you will realized why he did what he did.
Whatever details need to be filled in after his complete story is released by him, I will be happy to provide, or answer questions.
It is his moment of glory--for me to take even a small part of that away by prematurely releasing info that he himself wants to be the first to release is not professional.

So, please be a little patient--let's hear the story straight from the horses mouth, so to speak.

Finally, here are some "nots", which will answer/dispel some of the rumors circulating:

The fish was NOT a bed fish. The fish was NOT caught on a bed on a soft plastic, or jig. The place were the fish was taken is NOT in shallow water--it is not even remotely close to an area which bass spawn. The fish was NOT caught off natural structure; I have driven over the spot where the fish was caught dozens of times.
Salmon are NOT a species of fish in the lake, nor do the bass feed on them. These big fish do NOT eat the Biwa Trout to get big. The Biwa Trout is an extremely rare trout indigenous to Lake Biwa. I have fished Lake Biwa for 18 years, and have only seen two; most bass anglers have never seen one, let alone caught one. Also, the Biwa Masu (trout) lives in the deeper Northern part of the lake--this fish was caught in "Nanko" or the shallow southern part of the lake. So those that have written that this is just another trout stuffed bass are NOT correct. I am not a biologist, but there is a very good chance that that fish has never eaten a trout. The Biwa Masu is much like a Kokanee Salmon--it lives in a much different part (deeper) than most bass that are found in the lake.

So, sorry for the long rant; my purpose was to inform all of you that a really giant bass has been legally taken on rod and reel in the southern part of Lake Biwa, Japan. A truly remarkable feat, in my estimation.

"Known as the person who introduced swimbait fishing to Japan"