Yuhana Yokoi interviewed Sota and Mako Yamashita on January 23, and this is the interview that came out last week:
https://aichi-sports.jp/pickup/3587/
It works quite well with autotranslating tools! If you stumble upon a remaining 'Kusata' I didn't spot and change into Sota, that's what autotranslator sometimes leaves his name at. I think it's funny though, as Sota has mentioned his friends also call him that.
Yokoi Yuhana (hereinafter Yokoi): Thank you for joining us today!
Yamamoto Sota (hereinafter Yamamoto) and Yamashita Mako (hereinafter Yamashita): Thank you very much.
Yamamoto: These three are a rare combination, right?
Yokoi: It's rare. Sota and I grew up at the same Howa Sports Land (now Howa Minato Sports & Culture), and in 2021 Sota transferred to Grand Prix Tokai Club, where Mako belongs, so it was surprising that the three of us didn't have many opportunities to get together. We asked the two of them to come because we thought that the fans would also feel that it was a rare combination. Thank you for making time for us even though the season is not over yet!
Yamamoto and Yamashita: Thank you very much.
HOW THEY MET
Yokoi: Now you two often practice together at the Grand Prix Tokai Club and Chukyo University, but do you remember the first time you met?
Yamamoto: I came to Nagoya from Osaka in my second season of Novice A, but at that time I was at Howa Sports Land and Mako belonged to a different club, Grand Prix Tokai Club, so I think we first met at a private skating rink practice for Aichi Prefecture-designated athletes. My first impression was, "There's a junior who's really good at skating."
Yamashita: Eh? You met before the juniors, right?
Yamamoto: We may have met before that, but I remember clearly around the season (2017-2018) when Mako came in third at the World Junior Championships. I remember her as a good athlete.
FAVORITE ELEMENTS
Yamashita: The World Junior Championships were when I was in the third year of junior high school. I often met with Howa athletes at practice for the prefecture-designated athletes even before that. Sota is one of Howa's older brothers and sisters, and I thought he was a very good jumper. At that time, I still couldn't do a Lutz-Toe (a Lutz is a jump where you jump backwards with your left foot on the outside and touch the toe of your right foot, and a Lutz-Toe is a jump where you jump backwards with the toe of your left foot), so I watched him thinking, "Amazing!" Sota is one of my role models for Lutz-Toe.
Yokoi: I know! I also have the image that Sota is good at Lutz-Toe. When I first succeeded in a Lutz-Toe, I actually thought of Sota's Lutz-Toe before I jumped. And then I did it! Mako's Lutz-Toe also leaves a beautiful impression.
Yamashita: Thank you. I've been including Lutz-Toe in my programs for a long time.
Yokoi: This is a pretty skating-nerd question, but Mako always has two Lutz Toes in her programs, and this season, up until the Western Japan Figure Skating Championships in November, she had two Lutz Toes in her programs. What was your intention in changing one of your two Lutz Toes to an Axel Toe (Axel: a jump in which you face forward and swing your right foot up to jump) at the All Japan Figure Skating Championships in December?
Yamashita: I've always had a weakness for toes, and this season my Lutz Toes haven't been going well because they were under-rotated, so I changed it to an Axel Toe to put together a composition that I could be 100% confident I could definitely do at the All Japan Championships.
Yokoi: I haven't seen Mako's Axel Toes much, so I got really excited, thinking, "How rare!" Since the rule change, Sota has also been getting points for his sequence double Axel (a two-revolution jump where you step on a different foot and then jump). I'm personally happy to see Axels in the men's sequences these days. We both have one thing in common, that we're both good at the Lutz, but please tell us what other points you think are amazing about each other.
Yamamoto: As I said earlier, I've always thought that Mako's skating was very flexible since she was a junior, and even now, her strength is that she can jump at top speed. I want to emulate her. I want to emulate her, but it's not easy (laughs). Also, I think it's great that she has so much confidence in her own expression.
Yokoi: I also really love Mako's skating, and I've been saying that for years (laughs).
Yamamoto: And then there's the Ina Bauer!
Yokoi: Yes! Mako's Ina Bauer is great. I think it's the highlight of the free program.
ABOUT PRACTICE
Yamashita: What I think is amazing about Sota is the amount of practice he does. He practices from morning to night, so much that it makes me worry when I see him. When you enter the Aurora Rink at Chukyo University, you have to write your name, and when I come, Sota's name is always written there, and when I leave, he's still practicing. I'm a short-term intensive type, so I really respect the importance of that kind of accumulation.
Yokoi: I also heard rumors from my younger sister Kinayui (Yokoi Kinayui, Chukyo University) that "Kusata is always on the ice."
Yamamoto: It's not always better to do it for a long time, and I know that short-term intensives are more efficient like Mako-chan, and I would like to do that if possible. But often things don't go well, so I skate until I'm satisfied.
Yokoi: I've forgotten a lot about my active days, but each skater has their own way of working hard. By the way, what do you think are your strengths?
Yamamoto: I don't really have any strengths... The only thing I'm confident about is the eagle (a technique where you point your toes out and skate sideways while arching your back), so everyone praises me for it.
Yamashita: I have a positive personality!
Yokoi: No, no, from my point of view, I think both of them have many more strengths. Being strict with yourself may also be one of their strengths.
ABOUT EACH OTHER'S FAVORITE PROGRAMS
Yokoi: Please tell us about your favorite programs and the programs that left an impression on each of you.
Yamamoto: This year's SP (short program) movie "Moulin Rouge"'s "Hindi Sad Diamonds" has a slightly unusual editing style, and the unique world view suits Mako-chan, and I like it because it feels fresh and different from before. Also, during the free program during the corona season, when she was wearing a blue-ish costume...
Yamashita: Maybe "A Thousand Years"? A song with vocals.
Yokoi: I like it too! I was watching it thinking, "That's so Mako-chan."
Yamamoto: Yes. When that song plays, you'll think, "Ah, it's Mako-chan.
" Also, "Madame Butterfly" is good too. Yokoi: Once you start talking, it just keeps coming out, and it's a problem because you can't stop. Skaters love skating more than skating fans think, and they want to "tell us about their favorite programs!" I'm not the only skating nerd (laughs). Mako-chan, which of Sota's programs do you like?
Yamashita: I like Sota's FS (free skating) program "In This Shirt". We both like it (laughs).
Yamamoto: Oh, it brings back memories!
Yamashita: It starts slowly, then the swing gradually gets stronger, and the final step is a whoosh!
That's my favorite part. Yokoi: I know! "In This Shirt" is a program that starts backwards, and the previous season's "Nobunaga Concerto" also starts backwards. I think that's what enhances Sota's charm.
Yamashita: I think so too. Starting backwards is good! Another thing I like is the green costume...
Yokoi: Isn't it "Dragon/Bruce Lee Story"?
Yamashita: Yes! I really like that one too.
Yokoi: But you skated to "Dragon" for a short period of time, right? Didn't you change it in the middle of the season?
Yamamoto: You changed to "In This Shirt" when the All Japan Championships were over.
FUTURE PROGRAM SUGGESTIONS
Yokoi: Both Sota and Mako have tried various programs so far, but do you have any suggestions for each other that you would like to see them do or see?
Yamamoto: Mako has done tango and flamenco, and grandiose music suits her. I wonder... Maybe mature jazz would suit her.
Yokoi: That's true, I've never seen Mako do jazz.
Yamashita: I'd like to try jazz! I'd like to see more programs like Sota's SP "Chameleon" from last season. I can easily imagine a relaxed and gentle feeling, but I haven't seen many upbeat and energetic songs, so I'd like to see more of Sota like that.
Yokoi: I'd like to see it too.
Yamamoto: If there is an opportunity (laughs).
WHAT THEY PLAN TO IMPROVE
Yokoi: The 2024-25 season is drawing to an end. What do you want to improve for the rest of this season and for next season?
Yamamoto: This season, my jumps were lacking in stability, so first I want to make them more stable. There were competitions where I missed spins and steps, and those small details ultimately affect my score. I want to practice so that I can balance the certainty of my jumps with the quality of other elements.
Yamashita: I want to hone my individuality even more. I want to pursue expressions and edge work that only Mako Yamashita can do, and skate in a way that makes people say, "That's what Mako can do."
Yokoi: I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. Readers, in the second part we'll be looking into the skating lives of the two of you, so stay tuned!
*****
I'd say, I'm glad to hear Sota is aiming for better jump consistency, seeing as that effects the entire score greatly, unless you're a special established artist like, say, Jason.
I'm not sure training that hard, all the time, is the way to go, though, considering Sota's shoulder issue. I'd really like for him to focus on other things as I feel he's getting consumed by skating, and it's not really beneficial for his results. Despite the extended practice time, the consistency is not there yet, and he's visibly nervous in some competitions (like in Milan, if you noticed that expression and slight looseness of his posture - this is what I've come to associate with a nervous Sota over the years). So I'm not sure extending it even more is the way to go.
I do believe focusing on something else apart from skating, would do him a world of good.
As would picking music for his competitive programs himself, based on what he's good at, rather than what range of expressions he (and his choreographers) thinks he needs to improve. If you don't get the 'young promising talent' PCS/GoE bonus anymore, I don't think skating to Chameleons, Richaud's abstract creations, and other things Sota is not especially gifted in, will help much in getting a great score, especially coupled with competition nerves. You fight with what you're good at, no?
That said, it's a pity Sota thinks he's only good at eagles. It's a shame that neither his choreo sequences nor his skating skills are rewarded as well as they should be, too. His spins are also lovely, as are his successful jumps, and especially successful jump exits; he's got such lovely flow out of his jumps.
I just hope he gets all the care he needs, and can return to the ice in time to challenge the other top skaters next season.
I wish he could finish this season with a smile. 
Coach Tanaka seems strict, and I'm pleased to hear that, because IIRC, Hayashi was also strict with him, and Sota sounded pleased about it (back then when he was training at Nishinomiya briefly), and before that, Nagakubo was also strict with him. If he can fix Sota's jump consistency, that'll be great.
Just what Sota needs. Either that, or meditation techniques to feel zen and detached when competition time hits. 
Whatever does that mean? Is that a flexibility issue or something? 
I think I'll rewatch the Nebelhorn FS tonight...
