Skip to main content

Updates on Retirements, Team Transfers, and New Recruits

The Japanese fiscal and academic years run April through March, so most changes to teams' lineups happen then. With changes to regulations over team transfers after a national government investigation of potential anti-trust violations by the National Corporate Federation there's no shortage of transfers between teams. A quick look at some of the changes to the top corporate teams this year:

Women

Shiseido
retiring - Naruha Sato, 25 - 10000 m 31:52.43 
transfer out - Wakana Kabasawa, 24 - 5000 m 15:24.79

Sekisui Kagaku
new recruit - Yuma Yamamoto, 22 - 3000 m 8:52.19, 5000 m 15:16.71
new recruit - Akari Matsumoto, 18 - 3000 m 9:11.96
new recruit - Yuna Arai, 22 - 10000 m 32:11.08

Japan Post
new recruit - Kokone Sugimori, 18 - 3000 m 9:10.01, 5000 m 15:34.54
new recruit - Kae Gyu, 22 - 3000 m 9:14.29

Edion
new recruit - Kana Mizumoto, 18 - 3000 m 9:05.03

Daihatsu
new recruit - Aiko Hosoya, 18 - 3000 m 9:13.09
new recruit - Marin Nishizawa, 18 - 3000 m 9:14.24

Toyota Jidoshokki
new recruit - Riho Yoshida, 18 - 3000 m 9:13.06
transfer out - Nozomi Tanaka, 23 - 3000 m 8:40.84, 5000 m 14:59.93
transfer out - Yume Goto, 23 - 3000 m 8:49.65
transfer out - Momoka Kawaguchi, 24 - 10000 m 31:57.81

Panasonic
new recruit - Janet Nyiva, 18 - 3000 m 8:47.89, 5000 m 15:03.34

Daiichi Seimei
retiring - Hanae Tanaka, 33 - marathon 2:26:19
new recruit - Rinka Hida, 22 - half marathon 1:10:10

Kyudenko
transfer out - Winnie Jerotich, 23 - 3000 m 8:57.86, 5000 m 15:14.84

Uniqlo
transfer in - Yume Goto, 23 - 3000 m 8:49.65
transfer in - Momoka Kawaguchi, 24 - 10000 m 31:57.81

Men

Honda
transfer out - Jackson Kavesa, 21 - 10000 m 27:38.50
transfer out - Yuta Shitara, 31 - half marathon 1:00:17, marathon 2:06:11
new recruit - Vincent Yegon, 22 - 5000 m 13:15.15, 10000 m 27:24.42
new recruit - Ken Tansho, 22 - 5000 m 13:46.17, 10000 m 28:01.24

Fujitsu
retiring - Hirooki Arai, 34 - Rio de Janeiro Olympics 50 km RW bronze medalist
transfer out - Takamasa Kitagawa, 26 - Eugene World U20 Championships 4x400 m silver medalist
new recruit - Tatsuya Iyoda, 22 - 10000 m 28:06.26, half marathon 1:02:11
new recruit - Daiki Ozawa, 22 - 5000 m 13:43.81, 10000 m 28:20.67

Toyota
retiring - Chihiro Miyawaki, 31 - 10000 m 27:41.57, half marathon 1:00:53
transfer out - Alex Cherono, 22 - 5000 m 13:25.28
transfer in - Masashi Nonaka, 27 - 5000 m 13:35.94, half marathon 1:00:48

GMO
transfer out - Gideon Rono, 20 - 5000 m 13:16.51, 10000 m 27:11.03
transfer out - Tadashi Isshiki, 28 - half marathon 1:01:50, marathon 2:07:39
transfer out - Shohei Kurata, 30 - half marathon 1:02:08, marathon 2:08:44
transfer out - Ryo Hashimoto, 29 - half marathon 1:01:56, marathon 2:09:12
new recruit - Philip Mulwa, 21 - 5000 m 13:29.42, 10000 m 27:35.29
new recruit - Hironori Kishimoto, 22 - 5000 m 13:37.96, 10000 m 28:23.71
new recruit - Yudai Shimazu, 23 - 10000 m 28:34.40, half marathon 1:02:45
transfer in - Chihiro Ono, 23 - 5000 m 13:42.81, 10000 m 28:23.68

SGH
new recruit - Emmanuel Kipchichir, 19 - 5000 m 13:24.77
new recruit - Kotaro Kondo, 22 - 5000 m 13:34.88, 10000 m 28:10.50
new recruit - Takuma Takemura, 22 - half marathon 1:02:42
new recruit - Yuito Nakamura, 22 - 10000 m 28:29.43, half marathon 1:02:52

Subaru
transfer out - Andrew Lorot, 25 - 5000 m 13:26.40, 10000 m 27:33.21, half marathon 59:54

Toyota Boshoku
retiring - Junpei Kanisawa, 27 - half marathon 1:02:37
new recruit - Yuma Nishizawa, 22 - half marathon 1:02:35

JR Higashi Nihon
retiring - Natsuki Terada, 31 - half marathon 1:02:37, marathon 2:08:03
new recruit - Yuta Nakayama, 22 - 10000 m 28:07.33
new recruit - Shungo Yokota, 22 - marathon 2:07:47

Toyota Kyushu
transfer out - Kento Otsu, 31 - half marathon 1:01:56, marathon 2:08:15
retiring - Taishi Sakamoto, 27 - half marathon 1:01:54
retiring - Shoya Okuno, 29 - half marathon 1:02:26, marathon 2:09:28
new recruit - Kei Takase, 22 - half marathon 1:02:49

Logisteed (formerly Hitachi Butsuryu)
retiring - Shota Hattori, 31 - 5000 m 13:37.64, half marathon 1:01:25
retiring - Mitsunori Asaoka, 30 - 5000 m 13:38.05, 10000 m 27:59.72
transferring out - Wataru Tochigi, 27 - 10000 m 28:00.49, half marathon 1:01:21
transferring out - Kenta Koshikawa, 25 - half marathon 1:01:18
transferring out - Sho Nagato, 26 - 10000 m 28:07.32, half marathon 1:02:37
transferring out - Takumu Une, 24 - half marathon 1:02:42
new recruit - Tamaki Fujimoto, 22 - 5000 m 13:32.58, 10000 m 28:18.52, half marathon 1:02:20
new recruit - Masaya Yamatani, 22 - 5000 m 13:36.77, 10000 m 28:11.94
new recruit - Shunpei Tomita, 22 - 5000 m 13:41.74, half marathon 1:02:10
new recruit - Shunsuke Shikama, 22 - 10000 m 28:36.03

Kurosaki Harima
new recruit - Sota Fukutani, 22 - half marathon 1:02:58

Sunbelx
transfer out - Daisuke Momozawa, 30 - 10000 m 28:09.07, half marathon 1:01:50
transfer in - Kento Otsu, 31 - half marathon 1:01:56, marathon 2:08:15
new recruit - Yoshinori Shimazaki, 23 - 10000 m 28:27.98

Asahi Kasei
retiring - Ryoichi Matsuo, 31 - marathon 2:11:43
transfer out - Chihiro Ono, 23 - 5000 m 13:42.81, 10000 m 28:23.68
new recruit - Sonata Nagashima, 18 - 1500 m 3:44.87, 5000 m 13:37.46
new recruit - Ryuto Igawa, 22 - 10000 m 27:59.74, half marathon 1:02:39
new recruit - Taiga Nakanishi, 22 - 5000 m 13:38.45, 10000 m 28:03.26, half marathon 1:01:22
new recruit - Jun Kasai, 22 - 10000 m 28:21.72

© 2023 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Comments

Stefan said…
Sekisui Kagaku have recruited very well. Earlier in the year, I thought Shiseido may very well start an Exiden dynasty because of their depth of talent and runner development. However given the line up changes, I'm going to temper my thoughts. I'm still of the mind that Shiseido are the team to beat, but Sekisui will push them all the way and it will be a very interesting Exiden season especially if all the top runners are fully fit coming into it.

Thank you for the run down of the line up changes.

Most-Read This Week

Endo, Nishikawa and Yamakawa Announce Corporate Team Changes

The SG Holdings men's corporate team announced on Oct. 1 that long-distance athletes Hyuga Endo and Yuichiro Nishikawa have joined its roster after leaving the Sumitomo Denko team. Endo, 28, won the Junior Olympics 3000 m while at Koriyama Nishi J.H.S. before going on to Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. where he was the the top Japanese placer in the 5000 m at the National High School Championships 2 years in a row. After graduating from Gakuho Ishikawa he joined the Sumitomo Denko team, winning the National Championships 5000 m in 2021. He won gold at the 2023 Asian Championships and represented Japan at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. "I will give everything I have as part of the team and work hard toward helping it win the New Year Ekiden," he said of his new environment. Of his personal goals he said, "I want to focus on the 5000 m and reach new levels to compete internationally." Nishikawa, 28, was a member of Tokai University 's winning teams at the H...

3 Athletes Provisionally Suspended After Positive Drug Tests at Asian Games (updated)

The International Testing Agency announced on Oct. 2 that provisional suspensions have been imposed on two athletes, Kazakhstan's Aiana Bolatbekkyzy in track and field, and Tajikistan's Issamjon Sharifov in tennis, after they tested positive for prohibited substances at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Aichi. Bolatbekkyzy, 19, tested positive for the steroid drostanolone in a sample collected during an in-competition test at the Games. A diuretic drug was found in the sample collected from Sharifov, 23. Update:  On Oct. 3 a third athlete, kurash wrestler Yash Kumar Chauhan  of India, was provisionally suspended after an in-competition test detected the steroid metandienone, the metabolic modulator GW1516, and the stimulant mephentermine in his system. source article: https://www.sanspo.com/article/20261002-X4FJLT5MMZKFND6WXPOESAKETQ/ translated by Brett Larner