We interviewed Mr. Kiyofumi Tsukahara, CEO of P4MATCH Co., Ltd., about the background behind introducing Repsona and his experience using it.

Please tell us about your work and your role.

Mr. Tsukahara:
We develop and operate P4MATCH, an online tournament management system designed to make table tennis tournaments easier for both players and organizers.
Players can instantly check when and where their matches will be held and who will referee them, all from their smartphones. Our goal is to make tournaments fairer, simpler, and faster—with fewer errors and less confusion.

P4MATCH connects players who want to participate in table tennis tournaments with competition organizers.

What inspired you to develop P4MATCH?

Mr. Tsukahara:
I used to be a competitive table tennis player. A few years ago, after leaving a company where I worked in game development, I had more time to play again. As I entered more tournaments, I noticed recurring problems—poor scheduling, confusing match pairings, and inefficiencies that caused delays. I realized these could be solved through software, so I decided to build a system myself.

Of course, building it was just one part—the real challenge was making it easy for tournament organizers to use. When we finally used it in an actual event, everything ran much more smoothly and enjoyably than before. That experience was incredibly rewarding. My passion for table tennis had evolved into my work, and seeing the tournaments I played in improve thanks to my own product made me even more motivated.

Today, P4MATCH is used all across Japan, including by well-known players and organizations. Since table tennis has a large global community, we’re also aiming to expand internationally. My dream is to bring the service overseas and even participate in those tournaments myself.

What kind of work do you use Repsona for?

Mr. Tsukahara:
We use Repsona for P4MATCH’s development management. Even after five years of continuous development, new ideas keep emerging.
We manage everything—from match progression logic, singles and doubles support, to regional rule customization, ranking systems, and user pages. There are even tasks for prize coordination to make tournaments more convenient for users.

Whenever an idea comes to mind, I immediately register it as a task. When I revisit it during implementation, the idea often grows further—and I register new tasks from there.
Each new task brings fresh excitement and creative potential.

What challenges did you face before using Repsona?

Mr. Tsukahara:
Initially, I used Gmail’s To-Do feature for development management, but as the number of tasks increased, it became difficult to organize. Then I tried a well-known Gantt Chart (Timeline) tool. It was heavy, but better than Gmail. Later, I saw people on Twitter recommending Trello for its lightness—it looked easy to use, but it lacked a Gantt chart.

Then I discovered Repsona on Twitter. It combined both—a Kanban board like Trello and a Gantt chart (Timeline)—and I immediately thought, this is it.

Easily switch between Kanban and Gantt Chart views.

Many people, myself included, don’t realize how much friction exists in their task management until they change tools. Work continues even with slow or clunky systems, so the problems often go unnoticed—until you experience a smoother workflow. That’s exactly how I felt when I switched to Repsona.

Why did you choose Repsona?

Mr. Tsukahara:
Because it’s made in Japan. I wanted to support a domestic product, so I decided to try it—and now I’ve completely switched over.

The priority feature is also excellent. By deciding in advance what to work on next, I can proceed efficiently without wasting time thinking about what to do. It really streamlines the workflow.

You can easily organize priorities while reviewing tasks in Kanban view.

How has your experience with Repsona been?

Mr. Tsukahara:
When I work, I mainly use the Gantt chart (Timeline) view, but I switch between views frequently since everything loads instantly. I often check priorities, and even for tasks I’m not actively working on, I leave comments and notes.

Heavy tools can take several seconds to open a single task—and that kills my momentum. With Repsona, everything responds instantly, which makes me want to keep adding and managing tasks. That lightness is a huge advantage.

What do you expect from Repsona in the future?

Mr. Tsukahara:
It would be even more convenient if sorting within the Gantt chart (Timeline) and list views became smarter.
For example, when schedules aren’t set, tasks could automatically be sorted by those that have due dates first—eliminating the need for manual reordering.