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The 105th Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships will be held May 21-24 in Tochigi's Kanseki Stadium. Featuring World Championships national team members and Hakone Ekiden stars, it is the first time the meet is being held in Tochigi prefecture. The Kanto Regionals meet is open to member universities of the KGRR , with individual performances scoring points that determine the overall champion university program. The meet's history is even longer than that of the KGRR's flagship event, the Hakone Ekiden. All 22 events on the meet program except the men's half marathon, which was held separately on April 5 as part of the Yaizu Minato Half Marathon , will be held at Kanseki Stadium and the neighboring multipurpose field for throwing events. The entry list published on May 12 features Tokyo World Championships relay team member Arie Aoki (Nittai Univ.) in the 400 m. The men's 5000 m includes both Hakone Ekiden uphill Fifth Stage star Shinsaku Kudo (Was...

photo © 2025 Victah Sailer/Photo Run, all rights reserved On Jan. 8 the Edion women's corporate team announced that Ai Hosoda , 30, will retire at the end of March this year. The Tokyo Marathon will be her last race. At Nagano Higashi H.S. Hosoda ran in the National High School Ekiden her 2nd and 3rd years. During her 3rd year at Nittai University she won both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships, going on to win the bronze medal in the 10000 m at the World University Games in her 4th year at Nittai. After graduating she joined the Daihatsu corporate team, debuting at the 2019 Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2:29:27. 2 years later she transferred to Edion. She qualified for the Paris Olympics marathon trials at the 2022 Nagoya Women's Marathon and finished 3rd in the trials in the fall of 2023, but was later bumped down to Olympic alternate after another athlete ran a faster time. Instead of the Olympics, Hosoda ran the 2024 Ber...

It's been a busy year, and a record-breaking one that kicked off with a Hakone Ekiden CR by Aoyama Gakuin University and ended with a new men's marathon NR from Suguru Osako . JRN's 10-most read stories of 2025: Tokyo World Championships to Leave Final Decision on Going Ahead in Heat to World Athletics - Aug. 25 After fears of hot conditions were used as a justification to move the Tokyo Olympics marathons to Sapporo, concern was high about the conditions at September's Tokyo World Championships. Ultimately, though, it wasn't much of an issue, with longer distance events being moved slightly earlier in the mornings on which they were scheduled. Australian Male Arrested on Drug Smuggling Charges After Entering Japan for Osaka Marathon - Apr. 10 Australian business owner Matthew Inglis Fox who had come to Japan to run the Osaka Marathon was arrested on suspicion of illegally importing cannabis products. After several months of confinement Fox returned to his home...

The Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) held a press conference in Tokyo on Oct. 15. During the Tokyo World Athletics Championships last month the JOC utilized AI to monitor the sports world's ever-increasing issue of slander and libel on social media. They reported detecting approximately 500 problematic posts, of which they requested the deletion of around 230 that violated anti-defamation and other laws. At the press conference JOC executive director Yuki Ota explained, "Most of the posts that were requested to be deleted contained insults, racist or otherwise prejudicial content, sexual slander, or sexual harassment. As fans you should praise athletes over the course of their careers, and you keep that in mind if you feel some disappointment about performances in this sport we love. There is a big difference between trash talking and giving criticism you think will be constructive. Please think in terms of being a team player before you post online." The next year featu...

The Tokyo World Athletics Championships have come and gone, and Japan pretty much performed as expected from an organizational standpoint. Things were smooth, efficient and polite, the Tokyo Olympics stadium was packed at every session, and things like all the teams being housed in one hotel and the warmup track being driving distance from the main stadium that would have caused major logistical problems most other places went without many hitches. Even where cost-cutting measures were evident, like the absence of the light shows for walk-ons in the premier track events, nobody really seemed to care. The atmosphere might not have been as much fun as Budapest two years ago, but it was still miles ahead of other recent World Championships. Budapest was a record-setting team performance for Japanese athletes , with one gold medal, one bronze, and a total of 11 top-8 placings. Although there was a lot of disappointment for the home crowd this time, the actual team results in Tokyo were al...

  In its only event on the final day of the Tokyo World Athletics Championships , Japan fielded the same men's 4x100 m lineup it did in the heats, Yuki Koike , Hiroki Yanagita , Yoshihide Kiryu and Towa Uzawa . The specter of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics final, where Japan had a rare missed exchange while being a medal favorite, hung over the team's return to the final on home ground, and there was the extra pressure of knowing the emperor was in attendance in the stadium watching. Japan had the 5th-best time in the heats, and given the less than A-team lineup this time it would have taken something special to better that and add one last medal to Japan's count. Multiple delays due to heavy rain kept them waiting, but once it went off it played out pretty much according to expectations. Well, the U.S.A. did manage to get the baton around this time, so not exactly every expectation, but given that they did they of course dropped a world-leading 37.29 for gold. Canada was next ...

This will be easy. Japan closes out its home soil World Athletics Championships with one last race, and one of its traditionally strong ones, the men's 4x100 m relay. 21:20 - Men's 4x100 m Relay Final Prognosis : This is the entry pool: Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Toray) - 9.96 (+0.5) -  4th, Heat 7, Nationals Yoshihide Kiryu (Nihon Seimei) - 9.99 (+1.5) -  1st, Nationals Yuhi Mori (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10.00 (+1.3) -  7th, Nationals Hiroki Yanagita (Toyo Univ.) - 10.00 (+0.3) -  DQ, Nationals Sorato Shimizu (Seiryo H.S.) - 10.00 (+1.7) -  4th, SF3, Nationals Yuki Koike (Sumitomo Denko) - 10.08 (+0.3) -  5th, Nationals Naoki Inoue (Waseda Univ.) - 10.12 (+0.4) -  4th, Nationals Naoki Okami (Aomori Pref. Gov't) 10.17 (+0.9) -  2nd, Nationals Towa Uzawa (JAL) - 20.11 (+0.9) -  1st, Nationals In the individual 100 m Sani Brown confirmed that he wasn't anywhere close to peak form, and he was left off the 4x100 m team in the relay heats. The lineup th...

Fresh off the sting of world and Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi  not making the final in the women's javelin, national pride was salved a bit in the first event the next morning on day 8 of the Tokyo World Athletics Championships . In a tight 5-way race for the medals, women's 20 km national champion Nanako Fujii took 15 seconds off her own NR to take bronze in 1:26:18, 24 seconds behind Spain's Maria Perez , who added the 20 km gold to her 35 km victory last weekend with a 1:25:54, and 12 seconds behind Mexico's Alegna Gonzalez , who set an area record of 1:26:06. Fujii had to reach for bronze, beating Ecuador's Paula Milena Torres to the line by a step, with Peruvian Kimberly Garcia Leon 4 seconds back in 5th. All-time Japanese #2 Kumiko Okada was 18th in 1:30:12 and third teammate Ayane Yanai 37th in 1:35:44. That brought Japan's medal count for its home soil World Championships to 2, both bronze and both in race walks. With Kitaguchi out the home tea...

Day 7 of the Tokyo World Athletics Championships was the lightest yet for the home team with only 4 athletes in competition, but it provided the biggest disappointment for Japanese fans. In the women's javelin throw, defending world and Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi , working her way back from an injury, was eliminated in the qualification round after throwing only 60.38 m on her 2nd attempt. That put her at 8th in group A behind even teammate Momone Ueda 's 60.49 m 2nd attempt, and with the top 6 in group B all clearing 61 m both Kitaguchi and Ueda were out. The third Japanese woman on the squad, Sae Takemoto threw 55.11 m for 15th in group B and likewise did not move on. It's notable that Kitaguchi's training partner Petra Sicakova was also way off her best form with a 51.90 m best throw for 18th in group B. The only other Japanese athlete competing was Nagiya Mori in the men's 5000 m Heat 1. Mori ran 13:29.44 for 15th, well off the top 8 placing he needed...

It's getting near the end of the Tokyo World Athletics Championships , and with only one bronze medal so far the host country's chances of the kind of team performance it was hoping for are fading. A look at who's in action on Day 8: 7:30 - Women's 20 km Race Walk Nanako Fujii (Edion) - 1:26:33 -  1st, Nationals Kumiko Okada (Fujitsu) - 1:28:17 -  2nd, Nationals Ayane Yanai (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 1:29:44 -  4th, Nationals Prognosis : Fujii's win at this year's National Championships makes her the fastest woman in the field on SB and 2nd on PB. Okada and Yanai aren't likely to factor into the top 8, but Fujii is a realistic medal contender. 9:00 / 10:35 - Men's Discus Throw Qualification Masateru Yugami (Toyota) - 64.48 m -  3rd, Nationals Prognosis : Yugami made it into the Worlds field on a host country slot and is ranked 3rd from its bottom. He's had a decent season, and while there's almost no chance of him making the final a PB in front of a h...

Another short day at the World Athletics Championships for the home team, with a total of 4 athletes competing in only 2 events on day 7. 19:30 / 21:00 - Women's Javelin Throw Qualification Haruka Kitaguchi (JAL) - 66.13 m -  1st, 2024 Nationals Momone Ueda (Zenrin) - 62.20 m -  1st, Nationals Sae Takemoto (Orico) - 60.51 m -  3rd, Nationals Prognosis :The defending Olympic and world champion, Kitaguchi is coming back from injury. Her last 2 Diamond League meets were disastrous, then only average, but at least she's trending in the right direction. The only question is whether she's had enough time to get to full operational status. Ueda and Takemoto will have a tough time making it through the qualification round, so if Kitaguchi is far from peak form there's the prospect of no Japanese women in the final. 20:05 - Men's 5000 m Heats Nagiya Mori (Honda) - 13:15.07 -  2nd, Nationals Prognosis : Mori has been running well, by Japanese standards, all season, the o...

Both heats of the women's 5000 m saw the expected sight of Japanese athletes trying to fronton their way to the final. In Heat 1 both Yuma Yamamoto and Nozomi Tanaka went out hot on sub-15 pace. Yamamoto eventually faded to 18th of 20 finishers in 15:36.29, but NR holder Tanaka managed to ride the momentum to 5th in 14:47.14 to make the cut of 8 qualifiers. After a good run in the 10000 m Ririka Hironaka tried to frontrun Heat 2 solo on sub-15 pace, but while she a lead of 7 seconds at 2000 m and all 8 qualifiers ran between 14:56 and 14:57 Hironaka dropped to 13th in 15:10.68. 1.88 m was what it took to make the women's high jump final, but even though Nagisa Takahashi hit that mark her missed attempts ranked her 11th in qualification group A and 22nd overall, not enough to make the list of 16 qualifiers. The NR holder while still in high school and the only Japanese woman to have broken 2 minutes, Rin Kubo took 7th in Heat 3 of the 800 m in 2:02.84 in her first major int...

A couple of unexpected qualifiers add to the numbers of Japanese athletes in action on day 6 of the Tokyo World Athletics Championships . 19:05 - Women's 5000 m Heats Nozomi Tanaka (New Balance) - 14:31.88 -  1st, Nationals Yuma Yamamoto (Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:12.97 -  7th, Nationals Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) - 15:05.69 -  2nd, Nationals Prognosis : NR holder Tanaka should make it through to the final, but the decline in her last kick this season and evident in the 1500 m heats decreases her chances in a slower race. Yamamoto is in the same heat as Tanaka and doesn't have a realistic chance, but Hironaka could get through in the second heat after a great run in the 10000 m. 19:15 - Women's High Jump Qualification Nagisa Takahashi (Senko) - 1.92 m -  2nd, Nationals Prognosis : Takahashi was a host country addition to the field and is ranked near its bottom, so it would probably take at least a PB for her to make the final. 19:55 -  Women's 800 m Heats Rin Kubo ...

Only 7 Japanese athletes were in action across 3 events on the fifth day of the Tokyo World Championships . In the men's javelin throw qualification round, all 3 on the squad, Yuta Sakiyama , Roderick Genki Dean and Gen Naganuma , failed to make it to the final. Sakiyama was the best of them at 77.61 m for 15th in group A, Dean throwing 77.01 m for 16th in the same group and Naganuma 74.70 m for 17th in group B, putting him at 36th out of 37 competitors overall. Japan's hopes now rest on the women's javelin team. There was better luck in the women's 200 m heats, where Abigail Fuuka Ido , running on a host country slot, unexpectedly qualified for the semifinals with a 22.98 (+0.0) for 5th in Heat 5. That was enough to give her a time qualifying spot, and not the last one. Towa Uzawa came in ranked much higher in the men's 200 m field than Ido was in the women's, and he matched her performance in the heats with a 20.39 (+0.0) for 3rd in Heat 6 to move on to the ...

It's a pretty light day of competition for Japan on day 5 of its home soil World Athletics Championships , with only 7 people in action. 19:10 / 20:45 - Men's Javelin Throw Qualification Yuta Sakiyama (Ehime T&F Assoc.) - 87.16 m -  1st, Nationals Roderick Genki Dean (Mizuno) - 84.66 m -  2nd, Nationals Gen Naganuma (Suzuki) - 80.58 m -  3rd, Nationals Prognosis : Sakiyama and Dean are high enough up the rankings that both should make the final. Naganuma just squeezed onto the team thanks to roll-downs and will likely not advance. 19:30 - Women's 200 m Heats Abigail Fuuka Ido (Toho Ginko) - 22.79 (+1.0) -  1st, Nationals Prognosis : The new NR holder, Ido was an addition to the team thanks to Japan's host country slots. Her NR of 22.79 is far from the slowest season best in the field, but it would take some really good luck for her to advance. 20:15 - Men's 200 m Heats Towa Uzawa (JAL) - 20.11 (+0.9) -  1st, Nationals Soshi Mizukubo (Miyazaki T&F Assoc.)...

Day 4 of the Tokyo World Athletics Championships had a relatively small number of Japanese athletes in action, but it was highlighted by another great run in the men's 400 m from new NR holder Yuki Joseph Nakajima . 800 m NR holder Ko Ochiai , who made Worlds on a host country slot, bowed out in the first round with a 1:46.78 for 7th in Heat 5, putting him at 45th of 63 finishers overall. Neither member of the women's triple jump squad advanced either, Maoko Takashima 13th in qualification group A at 13.86 m (-0.3) and Mariko Morimoto 17th in group B and last overall at 13.10 m (+0.5). Ryoichi Akamatsu added to Japan's top 8 placing count, taking 8th in the men's high jump final at 2.24 m. Yuto Seko was 10th, clearing only 2.20 m after having hit the 2.33 m qualifying standard in late August. Olympic champ Hamish Kerr of New Zealand won a great duel against Korean Sanghyeok Woo , 2.36 m to 2.34 m. Czech Jan Stefela won bronze at 2.31 m. In the men's 110 m hur...

With Kana Kobayashi the top-placing Japanese woman in the Tokyo World Athletics Championships marathon yesterday at 7th, hopes were high that the men would come through with a medal in the event they care the most about. But alas. Yuya Yoshida was clearly nowhere near his Fukuoka CR-breaking form and was off the back of the lead pack by halfway, ultimately finishing 34th in 2:16:58. Paris Olympics marathon trials winner Naoki Koyama lasted longer but could still only manage a 2:13:42 for 23rd. The surprise was debut marathon NR holder Ryota Kondo , who ran 2:10:53 for 11th in only the second marathon of his career. It's back to the drawing board, but with the JAAF having revised the qualifying standards for the L.A. Olympics marathon trials to prioritize time even more over competitive performance ability, there's not much reason to be optimistic that Japanese marathoners are going to be relevant in championship races anytime in the foreseeable future. Anyway, Tanzanian Alp...

No new medals for the host country on the 2nd day of the Tokyo World Athletics Championships , but there still some good performances across the day including a massive NR in the men's 400 m. The least experienced member of the women's marathon squad, Kana Kobayashi took the early lead in the women's marathon, dropping as far back as 12th mid-race but clawing her way back into the top 8 on the hills at the end with a 2:28:50 for 7th. Sayaka Sato was off the back from the start but eventually ran down Yuka Ando for 2nd Japanese in 2:31:15 for 13th. Ando was 28th in 2:35:37. Peres Jepchirhir took gold in a track sprint against Tigist Assefa , 2:24:43 to 2:24:45, with Uruguay's Julia Paternain a distant 3rd in 2:27:23. Next up, Asian champion Kazuto Iizawa didn't make it out of the first round heats in the men's 1500 m, taking 13th in Heat 1 in 3:41.76. In the women's 100 m hurdles heats 2 of the 3 Japanese woman advanced to the semifinals on time, Mako F...

Japanese athletes lining up on Day 4 of the Tokyo World Athletics Championships Tuesday night: 19:35 - Men's 800 m Heats Ko Ochiai (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:45.16 -  1st, Nationals Prognosis : An NR breaker in high school, Ochiai made the Worlds team on a host country ticket. Probably best to view this one as experiential. 19:40 - Women's Triple Jump Qualification Maoko Takashima (Kyudenko) - 13.92 m (+0.2) -  1st, Nationals Mariko Morimoto (Orico) - 13.83 m (+0.8) -  3rd, Nationals Prognosis : National top 2 Takashima and Morimoto are near the very bottom of the triple jump field, so it's not likely either will make it to the final. Morimoto has better chances on paper but Takashima has been outperforming her this season. (20:36 - Men's High Jump Final) Prognosis : The men's high jump squad was probably the hardest to make outside the road events, and any or all of the 3 men on it could make the final. (20:40 - Men's 110 m Hurdles Semi-Final) Prognosis : NR holder ...

The Japanese men came out swinging in the first event of the Tokyo World Athletics Championships , the men's 35 km race walk. Hayato Katsuki and Masatora Kawano were up front and pushing the pace most of the way, but after a surge from Ecuador's David Hurtado they started to fade as the humidity rose. With a more patient early pace Canada's Evan Dunfee walked all 3 down for gold in 2:28:22. Brazil's Caio Bonfim also came up for silver in 2:28:55, with Katsuki getting Japan off on to a good start with a 2:29:16 for bronze as just about the only person who went out hard and held it together. Kawano faded badly to 18th in 2:37:15, with Japan's 3rd man Satoshi Maruo 26th of 34th finishers in 2:40:29. The women's race saw Spain's Maria Perez emerge from a lead group of 5 to repeat her 35 km gold medal from the 2023 Budapest World Championships, with Italian Antonella Palmisano narrowly beating Paula Milena Torres for silver 2:42:24 to 2:24:44, Torres...