japan running news

Japan had a team of 14 at the World Athletics Road Running Championships this weekend in Copenhagen, Denmark, opting not to send any women in the road mile. That was actually where the best Japan-adjacent performance came, as Mirriam Cherop , who returned to Kenya this year after several seasons with the Kansai-based Shin Nihon Jusetsu team, took bronze in 4:25.71. The best Japanese placing was in the men's mile, where Waseda University 's Ojiro Honda was 16th in a PB of 3:57.50, 0.50 off the NR but almost 4 seconds behind what Keita Satoh ran at last weekend's Fifth Avenue Mile in New York. Top placings in the other events were all in the mid-20s, Kana Mizumoto 24th in the women's 5 km in 15:42, Rui Suzuki 28th in the men's 5 km in 13:38, Yumi Yoshikawa 25th in the women's half marathon in 1:09:34, and Yuma Nishizawa 26th in the men's half marathon in 1:01:17. In half marathon team scoring, the Japanese men were 6th and the women 8th, disappointing...

Re-upping an earlier post on Japan's team lineup for this weekend's  Copenhagen World Road Running Championships . The JAAF chose not to name any women to the team in the mile. Women 5 km Kana Mizumoto (Edion) - 15:06.98 Rina Kusu (Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:10.91 Half Marathon Yumi Yoshikawa (Canon) - 1:09:14 Wakana Kabasawa (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 1:09:20 Rina Shimizu (Noritz) - 1:09:22 Yuna Takahashi (Shimamura) - 1:09:23 Men Mile Ojiro Honda (Waseda Univ.) - 3:37.53 (1500 m) Tomoki Nakano (Toenec) - 3:37.92 (1500 m) 5 km Yota Mashiko (Waseda Univ.) - 13:20.35 Rui Suzuki (Waseda Univ.) - 13:20.64 Half Marathon Tomoya Ogikubo (Hiramatsu Byoin) - 1:00:22 Yuma Nishizawa (Toyota Boshoku) - 1:00:26 Neo Namiki (Subaru) - 1:00:29 Daisuke Sato (Chuo Univ.) - 1:00:40 © 2026 Brett Larner , all rights reserved

Following an earlier announcement of the half marathon teams for September's Copenhagen World Road Running Championships , on June 26 the JAAF announced the mile and 5 km squads that will join them. No women were named to the mile. Women 5 km Kana Mizumoto (Edion) - 15:06.98 Rina Kusu (Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:10.91 Half Marathon Yumi Yoshikawa (Canon) - 1:09:14 Wakana Kabasawa (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 1:09:20 Rina Shimizu (Noritz) - 1:09:22 Yuna Takahashi (Shimamura) - 1:09:23 Men Mile Ojiro Honda (Waseda Univ.) - 3:37.53 (1500 m) Tomoki Nakano (Toenec) - 3:37.92 (1500 m) 5 km Yota Mashiko (Waseda Univ.) - 13:20.35 Rui Suzuki (Waseda Univ.) - 13:20.64 Half Marathon Tomoya Ogikubo (Hiramatsu Byoin) - 1:00:22 Yuma Nishizawa (Toyota Boshoku) - 1:00:26 Neo Namiki (Subaru) - 1:00:29 Daisuke Sato (Chuo Univ.) - 1:00:40 © 2026 Brett Larner , all rights reserved

The JAAF announced the men's and women's half marathon teams today for this fall's World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen: Women Yumi Yoshikawa (Canon) - 1:09:14 (1st, 2026 Osaka Half) Wakana Kabasawa (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 1:09:20 (1st, 2026 Nat'l Corp. Half) Rina Shimizu (Noritz) - 1:09:22 (2nd, 2026 Osaka Half) Yuna Takahashi (Shimamura) - 1:09:23 (3rd, 2026 Osaka Half) Men Tomoya Ogikubo (Hiramatsu Byoin) - 1:00:22 (4th, 2026 Marugame Half) Yuma Nishizawa (Toyota Boshoku) - 1:00:26 (5th, 2026 Marugame Half) Neo Namiki (Subaru) - 1:00:29 (6th, 2026 Marugame Half) Daisuke Sato (Chuo Univ.) - 1:00:40 (7th, 2026 Marugame Half) Mile and 5 km teams, if any, will be decided after June's National Track and Field Championships. © 2026 Brett Larner , all rights reserved

http://www.sanspo.com/tohoku/top/th200711/th2007112805.html translated by Brett Larner A major talent looks set to finally bloom. Having set a new Japanese national half-marathon record of 1:00:25 in October, Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku) of Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, says, "Doing something like that gives me a lot of confidence, but at the same time it puts a lot of expectation on me. If I don`t do well [in Fukuoka] a lot of people are going to criticize me. I have to do well." With this delicate balance of confidence and pressure, Sato heads into the Fukuoka International Marathon on Dec. 2. During his days at Waseda University Sato set the then Japanese student marathon record of 2:09:50 in his debut marathon. Since that time he has made a name as a star corporate ekiden runner but has not lived up to the same potential in the marathon, finishing only 10th in the 2003 Paris World Championships. Sato trained for last year`s Biwako Marathon at a high-altitu...

http://www.iaaf.org/WRU07/results/gender=M/discipline=HMAR/combCode=hash/roundCode=f/index.html written by Brett Larner Atsushi Sato set a new Japanese and Asian half-marathon record of 1:00:25 at the World Road Running Championships in Udine, Italy on Oct. 14, 2007. Sato placed 9th overall. Japan-based half-marathon world record holder Samuel Wanjiru, suffering from a knee injury, finished 51st in 1:03:31, behind Japan`s Sato; Kazuhiro Maeda, 30th in a PB of 1:02:08; and Kenji Noguchi, 33rd in a PB of 1:02:20. Tetsuo Nishimura was close behind Wanjiru, finishing 54th in 1:03:41. The Japanese team placed 7th out of 17 teams. Japan`s women`s team finished 3rd of 8 teams led by Chisato Osaki`s 7th place finish in a PB time of 1:08:56. Other Japanese results included Akane Taira, 12th in 1:09:17 (PB); Yoshimi Ozaki, 13th in 1:09:26 (PB); Yuko Machida, 26th in 1:11:55; and Yurika Nakamura, 39th in 1:13:13.

http://www.iaaf.org/WRU07/news/Kind=2/newsId=42057.html

http://www.asahi.com/sports/update/1003/SEB200710030020.html translated by Brett Larner Kenyan half-marathon world record holder Samuel Wanjiru has been forced to withdraw from his planned full marathon debut at next month`s ING New York City Marathon. As a member of Toyota Kyushu`s jitsugyodan running team, Wanjiru is required to be physically present in Japan for at least 180 days per year. Wanjiru has only 10 days` leave time left and will expend this allowance at the World Road Running Championships in Udine, Italy next week. Toyota Kyushu coach Koichi Morishita stated that Wanjiru has not trained specifically for a marathon at this time and that Toyota Kyushu requires him instead to focus on preparations for the national corporate ekiden championships on Jan. 1, 2008.