last year Mao did not need it because she had the 2 assignaments, I want to believe that if they know that Satoko and Marin have 2 gp somewhere and Mao needs an invitation they would incline toward Mao, and Mao would not affect the attendance, at the contrary, but of course is possible that they ignore her. I guess you have less faith in the JSF than me, and that's saying a lot.
Maybe. Well Mao did place 12th and hasn't been producing results, so I feel JSF might have given up on her. I also never felt that her coaches were good at promoting her. Sato was never great at that, nor do I feel he cares about those things. However, in figure skating, it does help a lot, that's why rising skaters go to famous coaches once they produce some results. You need that backing to go far at the start and for veteran skaters, you need someone to remind others that you're still great.
She injured in her left knee for a while and had an underwhelming season, and ended up with placing 12th at Nationals. 
That's how Mao's lived her life so far IMO.
