Would that it were true. I believe the new Daiwa NEO rod, not the RT, SC or Minomushi (which is actually a 5th model of tenkara rod) is intended to be the replacement for the Enshou rods. That's the one I haven't seen yet (although I have ordered one for evaluation). The formal announcement may come at the Osaka show but they would not announce a rod that the retailers do not already know about and have access to. If there is an announcement, I would bet it is of the new NEO rods.

I suspect that the tenkara market in Japan is too small (particularly the high end) and that Daiwa is focusing their developmental efforts elsewhere. The Rinfu rods are wonderful, but were discontinued years ago and there has been nothing to replace them. Daiwa did not design or market them for tenkara, but for hae (also called yamabe or oikawa - a type of chub). They now have no rods at all for hae and it appears they have abandoned that segment of the market. I hope I will be proven wrong, but to date there is no evidence to the contrary.