Asuka will serve as the one-day chief of the Ooyodo Police Station in Osaka’s Kita Ward on Friday, November 27, she announced on X on October 27. The booking comes as the WWE star remains away from television following her loss at Backlash in May.
The appearance doubles as a fan meet-and-greet. According to the English translation of her post shown on X, Asuka will give away police goods she has signed and will also sign items fans bring with them. The event takes place at Kita Ward Citizens’ Hall, with a morning start time and full details still to be announced. She asked anyone who wants to attend to comment on the post.
Asuka warns the officers
Asuka teased the role a day earlier in Osaka dialect, writing that she would be doing the one-day police chief job and that the officers under her jurisdiction should brace themselves, because she is the type who works people hard.
She kept the bit going in a follow-up post. Per X’s translation, Asuka joked that she had the officers making her uniform from scratch, starting with “cotton cultivation” and working through harvesting, spinning, dyeing, cutting and sewing, adding that she wasn’t sure it would be ready in time. She also said she didn’t want to hurt her wrist practicing signatures for the 27th, so she was having the officers practice hers too.
The one-day chief role is a long-running PR tradition in Japan, with police stations handing the title to entertainers and athletes to promote campaigns such as crime prevention and traffic safety. The appointment is ceremonial and carries no actual police authority. Osaka Prefectural Police gave the same title to MMA fighter Kana Watanabe at the Nishiyodogawa Police Station on October 11.
Where things stand with WWE
The Ooyodo booking puts Asuka back in front of Osaka fans while her WWE status remains on pause. She hasn’t wrestled since losing to IYO SKY at Backlash on May 9, and she left Raw two nights later with her suitcase in hand in what looked like a farewell.
In May, Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that Asuka was described as semi-retired, while PWInsider’s Mike Johnson was told she was believed to remain aligned with the company. Fightful Select reported she signed a long-term WWE contract in the summer of 2024.
Asuka addressed her status herself in May, saying on her KanaChan TV YouTube channel that she stepped away over “a personal matter” and that she is “still officially with WWE.” When a fan asked again this month, she shut down the WWE exit talk in a two-line reply: “I haven’t left the group. I haven’t quit.”
She has stayed visible in other ways during the break, including a YouTube reunion with former Kabuki Warriors partner KAIRI earlier this month. WWE has not announced a return date.
