Japanese figure skating 2021-22 season news & updates

[Sylvia]

Re-posting here from the GP Assignments thread:

Hanyu will WD [from Rostelecom Cup] - reported by the Japanese media: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/3e0711ec04fc051255dbd3d96ccecd93ecd59273

Also the JSF has decided on the JGPF Japan entries:

Jr. women: Rion Sumiyushi
Jr. men: Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda

本田ルーカス剛史、住吉りをん　開催国枠でジュニアＧＰファイナル出場へ - フィギュア : 日刊スポーツ

日本スケート連盟は17日、都内で理事会を開き、フィギュアスケートのジュニアグランプリ（GP）ファイナル（12月9～12日、大阪・東和薬品ラクタブドーム）に、開… - 日刊スポーツ新聞社のニュースサイト、ニッカンスポーツ・コム（nikkansports.com）

www.nikkansports.com

Machine translation:
The Japan Skating Federation held a board meeting in Tokyo on the 17th, and at the Junior Grand Prix (GP) final of figure skating (December 9-12, Osaka Towa Pharmaceutical RACTAB Dome), the men's Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda (19) = Kinoshita Academy) and Rion Sumiyoshi (18 = Tokyo, Komaba Gakuen High School) have announced that they will participate.

Considering the situation of the new coronavirus, there was no dispatch to the Japanese Junior GP series this season.

Honda won the All Japan Junior Championships last season. Sumiyoshi won the second consecutive junior women's championship at the East Japan Championships in October.

ETA:

Lucas Tsuyoshi HONDA is ranked #35 (225.89) on the ISU Season Best total scores list after winning the silver medal in his Challenger Series debut at Cup of Austria in Graz this past weekend. Link to his ISU bio (he likely would have made his JGP debut last season had the series not been cancelled): http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00102340.htm

Rion Sumiyoshi's ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00102347.htm

 

[Tak]

Thank you Sylvia-san.
JSF selection of Sumiyoshi and Lucas Honda will ruffle least feathers, I suppose.
Last weekend, the top Junior girls in Kyoto were competing to gain one of the three tickets available to go to Japan National Junior High Championships. Those competing in Kyoto were at least 6-7 skaters (Shimada, Shibayama, Kushida, Tanaka, Daimon, Murakami etc) who will almost certainly come in within 10th at this weekend's Junior Nationals. Other prefectures announce their representatives, immediately, but Kyoto event was behind closed doors and no announcement has been made, so far.

 

[Tak]

The TV ratings for NHK Trophy came in at 9.9% (Men FP;19:30 Prime Time) and 9.6% (Women FP; 1730).
Comparison could be made to:
2020 NHK (Domestic Competition) 10.1%; although this beat Japan Series Baseball Game between Hawks and Giants at 9.5%
2019 NHK (Rika Silver, Hanyu Gold) 15.8-16.2%
2021 WTT (Both Rika and Hanyu competing) around 15%.
It seems that it is a "cup half full" situation.

 

[gotoschool]

The travesty in scoring of Wakaba's fabulous freeskate performance in France and her deflated overall scores in tech and PCS is one of the most blatant cases of desperate lowballing to make way for ISU favorites, so much so it couldn't help but but be exposed. Yet another reason to have nothing but contempt for the judges and the rigged scoring system.

 

[skatingguy]

The travesty of scoring of Wakaba's fabulous freeskate performance in France is one of the most blatant cases of desperate lowballing to make way for ISU favorites so much so that they couldn't help but but be exposed. Yet another reason to have nothing but contempt for the judges and the rigged scoring system.

I think Higuchi's score was fair, but the Russians were overscored for programs that both had falls in them.

 

[Karen-W]

The travesty of scoring of Wakaba's fabulous freeskate performance in France is one of the most blatant cases of desperate lowballing to make way for ISU favorites so much so that they couldn't help but but be exposed. Yet another reason to have nothing but contempt for the judges and the rigged scoring system.

Per a few fans in the arena, Wakaba was appreciably slower than the other medalists.

 

[Sylvia]

Jack Gallagher's recap of Junior Nationals this past weekend:

FIGURE SKATING | Kao Miura, Mao Shimada Capture Japan Junior Titles with Powerful Performances

Miura edges Tatsuya Tsuboi for the men’s title, while Mao Shimada outscores Rion Sumiyoshi to earn the women’s top prize.

japan-forward.com

Excerpts:

Miura opened with a beautiful triple axel, then followed it with a strong quad salchow and a huge quad toe loop/triple toe loop combination. He received a lengthy standing ovation from the crowd at Nippon Gaishi Arena as he finished his program to a selection of songs by Vicente Amigo.
Though Miura fell on a quad toe loop later in the program, and received just level threes on two of his spins and step sequence, his jumping prowess was still enough to carry him to the top of the podium.
Miura’s free skate score was a titanic 165.28, and he burst into tears when the tally was posted on the video board.
“[After the short program] I was so worried that it was useless to have been there for a year,” Miura stated. “But I was relieved to be able to perform well for the free, and I felt relieved from my anxiety.”

Shimada opened her free skate to “Queen’s Gambit” with five jumps, landing them all with flair. She began with a fine quad toe loop, then hit a triple lutz/triple toe loop combo, followed by a triple flip and a triple loop.
Shimada received level fours on her spins and a level three on her step sequence.
“I’m glad, I didn’t think I could win the championship,” Shimada stated. “I want to improve my expressiveness and skating to improve the PCS (Program Component Scores). I want to put in two quads from next year, first two quad toe loops.”

The invited [Junior] skaters to Senior Nationals (6 each for Men and Women) were announced.
Women: Rion Sumiyoshi, Mone Chiba, Hana Yoshida, Azusa Tanaka, Ayumi Shibayama, Ami Nakai
Men: Kao Miura, Tatsuya Tsuboi, Nozomu Yoshioka, Takeru Kataise, Kosho Oshima, Shunsuke Nakamura
No invitation for Mao Shimada, sadly...

フィギュア全日本選手権の推薦出場選手を発表　島田麻央は推薦されず - フィギュア : 日刊スポーツ

日本スケート連盟フィギュア委員会は22日、前日まで名古屋市で行われた全日本ジュニア選手権の結果を受け、下記選手を年末の全日本選手権に出場推薦すると発表した。【… - 日刊スポーツ新聞社のニュースサイト、ニッカンスポーツ・コム（nikkansports.com）

www.nikkansports.com

The 13-year-old Mao Shimada (Kinoshita Academy), who won the women's championship, is in the Novice A (11-12 years old as of June 30), which is one category below the juniors. Shizuka Arakawa (1st year of junior high school at that time) in 1994 achieved the first "skipping grade" [level] V in 27 years, but was not recommended because "skipping grade" to all Japan was not recognized.
Although she [Shimada] was Novice A last year, she was ranked 3rd and stood on the podium for the first time in 20 years since Miki Ando in 2000, but she was not recommended because there was no special application.

 

[ostile17]

Ice dancers Rikako Fukase (Daito Bunka Univ.), Oliver Zhang (Canada), Nicole Takahashi (Dream FC), and Shiloh Jud (USA) to miss the All Japan Nationals

Hidehito Ito, chairman of the Japan Skating Federation, announced on the 15th that two ice dance teams will miss the All Japan Championship in Figure Skating (22nd to 26th, Saitama Super Arena).
The reason is that immigration restrictions were tightened due to measures against the new "Omicron strain", and foreign athletes could not enter the country. Rikako Fukase and Oliver Zhang (Canada), Nicole Takahashi, and Shiloh Jud (USA), fall under this category.

The All Japan Championships will now be contested by a total of five teams, including Misato Komatsubara (Kurashiki FSC) aiming for the fourth straight victory, and Kana Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi (Kansai University KFSC) aiming for their first victory.

深瀬理香子＆張睿中オリバー組ら入国規制で欠場　全日本選手権（日刊スポーツ） - Yahoo!ニュース

日本スケート連盟の伊東秀仁フィギュア委員長（60）は15日、フィギュアスケートの全日本選手権（22～26日、さいたまスーパーアリーナ）をアイスダンス2組が欠場すると明かした。 新型コロナウイルスの

news.yahoo.co.jp

 

[Sylvia]

Hidehito Ito, chairman of the Japan Skating Federation, announced on the 15th that two ice dance teams will miss the All Japan Championship in Figure Skating (22nd to 26th, Saitama Super Arena).
The reason is that immigration restrictions were tightened due to measures against the new "Omicron strain", and foreign athletes could not enter the country. Rikako Fukase and Oliver Zhang (Canada), Nicole Takahashi, and Shiloh Judd (USA), fall under this category

Not unexpected but still .

ETA link to the Nationals thread in Kiss & Cry: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...-championships-dec-22-26-2021-saitama.109072/

 

[Sylvia]

Congrats to Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara on being the first Japanese skaters to be named to the 2022 Olympic team!

Figure skating - Pairs couple Miura Riku, Kihara Ryuichi to represent Japan at Beijing 2022

Find out who are the first Japanese figure skaters to punch their ticket for the next Winter Olympics.

olympics.com

"Miura/Kihara will also compete at the world championships from 21-27 March in Montpellier, France, the JSF said."

Both posted earlier today about having to miss Nationals.
Miura: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXgMe17uW7f/
Kihara: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXgNNaJu6ez/

 

[Sylvia]

Yuma Kagiyama article (Dec. 16):

鍵山優真の野望　２年後の５回転ジャンプ　「可能性十二分に」父正和コーチ - フィギュア : 日刊スポーツ

フィギュアスケート男子で昨季の世界選手権2位の鍵山優真（18＝オリエンタルバイオ／星槎）が、まずは初の日本一を目指す。22年北京五輪開幕50日前の16日に合わ… - 日刊スポーツ新聞社のニュースサイト、ニッカンスポーツ・コム（nikkansports.com）

www.nikkansports.com

Summarized here: https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1471336319351930886

In a new interview, Yuma Kagiyama says he’ll likely not try 4Lo at Nationals, to stick with jumps he’s most confident at. He’s aiming for the first Olympic spot.
He’s been practicing at the rink at Chukyo University, where he hopes to be accepted for next spring.
Next season, Yuma wants to complete all quads except the axel.
After that, in 23-24, he wants to aim for a quint. He says since Hanyu is doing world’s 1st 4A, a quint is the next thing to aim for.

 

[Sylvia]

ISU feature on Shoma Uno (Dec. 10): https://www.isu.org/figure-skating/...to-skate-as-long-as-possible?templateParam=15

 

[angi]

Rika Kihira withdrew from Japanese Nationals:

https://twitter.com/InTheLoPodcast/status/1472979323573485571

 

[Sylvia]

紀平梨花全日本選手権欠場へ　北京五輪は絶望　右足首故障で回復間に合わず - フィギュア : 日刊スポーツ

フィギュアスケート女子で全日本選手権2連覇中の紀平梨花（19＝トヨタ自動車）が、22年北京五輪代表最終選考会となる今季の同選手権（22日開会式、23～26日、… - 日刊スポーツ新聞社のニュースサイト、ニッカンスポーツ・コム（nikkansports.com）

www.nikkansports.com

Machine translated excerpt:
After returning from Canada, where she was based, Kihira was forced to make a tough decision. According to people familiar with the matter, the condition of her right ankle, which had been hurt, was not good and she decided to miss the All Japan Championship.

Participation in the championship is mandatory according to the selection criteria for the Olympic representatives of the Japan Federation, and even if you are absent due to unavoidable reasons such as breakdowns, the selection will be made for "players who have won 3rd place in the world championships in the past". It is written. As for the results in Kihira's world championship, 4th place in [20]19 is the highest and does not meet the conditions. Ace of Japanese women who has been active in international competitions, but if she misses, the representative of the Beijing Olympics will be in despair.

 

[BlueRidge]

Oh what awful news about Rika.

 

[Sylvia]

JSF released today the criteria of selection for the spots for the 2022 Olympics
...
SINGLES

JSF released its criteria for assigning the three men’s and women’s Olympic spots for 2022. Criteria for each spot in the images here, with a few points to note in the thread.

https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1415248462631763970

Kihira does meet the criteria listed in 3B of "Three skaters with the highest World Standing as of Nationals" even though she hasn't competed this season:
4 2609 Kaori SAKAMOTO JPN
8 2271 Rika KIHIRA JPN
14 1719 Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN

3C is "Three skaters with the highest Season's Ranking as of Nationals":
8 917 Kaori SAKAMOTO JPN
9 860 Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN
10 834 Mai MIHARA JPN

2C is "Three skaters with the highest Season's Best score as of Nationals":
7 Kaori SAKAMOTO JPN ISU GP NHK Trophy 2021 13/11/2021 223.34 S
14 Mai MIHARA JPN ISU GP Gran Premio D'Italia 2021 06/11/2021 214.95 S
18 Satoko MIYAHARA JPN ISU GP Gran Premio D'Italia 2021 06/11/2021 209.57 S
---
23 Mana KAWABE JPN ISU GP NHK Trophy 2021 13/11/2021 205.44 S
24 Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN ISU GP Skate Canada International 2021 30/10/2021 205.27

 

[Wyliefan]

Then she may make the team -- but with an injury this persistent, I wonder if she'll even be ready by February.

 

[Frau Muller]

So that’s it for Rika’s possibilities to skate in the Olympics, it seems…even with the tiny exceptions in the rules. It’s not as if Japan doesn’t have a bucket of great senior women ready to compete strongly in Beijing.

 

[ostile17]

Kihira does meet the criteria listed in 3B of "Three skaters with the highest World Standing as of Nationals" even though she hasn't competed this season:
4 2609 Kaori SAKAMOTO JPN
8 2271 Rika KIHIRA JPN
14 1719 Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN

3C is "Three skaters with the highest Season's Ranking as of Nationals":
8 917 Kaori SAKAMOTO JPN
9 860 Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN
10 834 Mai MIHARA JPN

2C is "Three skaters with the highest Season's Best score as of Nationals":
7 Kaori SAKAMOTO JPN ISU GP NHK Trophy 2021 13/11/2021 223.34 S
14 Mai MIHARA JPN ISU GP Gran Premio D'Italia 2021 06/11/2021 214.95 S
18 Satoko MIYAHARA JPN ISU GP Gran Premio D'Italia 2021 06/11/2021 209.57 S
---
23 Mana KAWABE JPN ISU GP NHK Trophy 2021 13/11/2021 205.44 S
24 Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN ISU GP Skate Canada International 2021 30/10/2021 205.27

But in theory not if you miss Nationals

“Participation in the All Japan Championship, which is the final selection, is mandatory. However, if the athlete who finished third at the World Championships in the past cannot participate in the All Japan Championship due to unavoidable reasons such as injury, then that skater’s performance before the occurrence of injury or other circumstances that caused the non-participation may be evaluated in light of the above selection criteria, and selection may be made while looking at the condition at the time of the tournament.”

Rika's highest placement at Worlds is 4th.

 

[Wyliefan]

Oh, that explains it. Jackie was saying she wasn't eligible for a bye, but I wasn't sure why.

I can't imagine how frustrated she must feel.

 

[Karen-W]

I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop, probably tomorrow or maybe Wednesday we will hear about Yuzu, I think.

 

[PRlady]

Oh, that explains it. Jackie was saying she wasn't eligible for a bye, but I wasn't sure why.

I can't imagine how frustrated she must feel.

Not medaling in Tokyo really had long-term consequences. But Japan still has four real contenders for three spots and IMO Kaori has the best chance of cracking the Russian sweep out of all of them. (If Rika skated her best with two-three clean 3As, she'd contend, but when was the last time that happened?)

 

[ioana]

Japan has more than enough depth to field another competitive skater in Beijing, but this is so for Rika. Missing out on being considered by one spot, too!

 

[ChelleC]

I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop, probably tomorrow or maybe Wednesday we will hear about Yuzu, I think.

Fanyus have been saying on Twitter all morning there's reports in the Japanese press that Yuzu will compete.

 

[Karen-W]

Fanyus have been saying on Twitter all morning there's reports in the Japanese press that Yuzu will compete.

Well, that's good. Hopefully he will be in decent shape.

 

[Sylvia]

Dec. 21 article "Yuzuru Hanyu to participate in All Japan Championship April It's been 8 months since the World Team Trophy":

羽生結弦が全日本選手権出場へ　４月世界国別対抗戦以来８カ月ぶり - フィギュア : 日刊スポーツ

フィギュアスケート女子で全日本選手権2連覇中の紀平梨花（19＝トヨタ自動車）が、22年北京五輪代表最終選考会となる今季の同選手権（22日開会式、23～26日、… - 日刊スポーツ新聞社のニュースサイト、ニッカンスポーツ・コム（nikkansports.com）

www.nikkansports.com

"According to people familiar with the matter, his right foot, which had been hurt by just one jump, has recovered steadily, and he resumed his practice on ice in mid-November."

 

[ChelleC]

Well, that's good. Hopefully he will be in decent shape.

Yes, and hopefully he's in better shape in February. There's not been enough head to head between him and Nathan with him being healthy.

 

[Sylvia]

Kyodo news article in English:

Figure skating: Kihira to miss Olympics, Hanyu returning at nationals

Yuzuru Hanyu, Japan's two-time Olympic gold medalist, is set to return from an injury layoff at this week's national championships, a qualifying event for the Beijing Winter Games, multiple sources close to the matter say.

english.kyodonews.net

It is a bitter blow for the 19-year-old, who could not take part in the 2018 Pyeongchang Games due to age regulations when she was 15. There was high hope for her to medal in Beijing after she landed a quad salchow at last year's nationals.

 

[Lara]

So sorry for Rika. Even if she’d gotten bronze at Worlds, it would probably depend on how well the top three at Nats skated. But it’s very unfortunate she couldn’t recover in time.

 

[ostile17]

Dec. 21 article "Yuzuru Hanyu to participate in All Japan Championship April It's been 8 months since the World Team Trophy":

羽生結弦が全日本選手権出場へ　４月世界国別対抗戦以来８カ月ぶり - フィギュア : 日刊スポーツ

フィギュアスケート女子で全日本選手権2連覇中の紀平梨花（19＝トヨタ自動車）が、22年北京五輪代表最終選考会となる今季の同選手権（22日開会式、23～26日、… - 日刊スポーツ新聞社のニュースサイト、ニッカンスポーツ・コム（nikkansports.com）

www.nikkansports.com

"According to people familiar with the matter, his right foot, which had been hurt by just one jump, has recovered steadily, and he resumed his practice on ice in mid-November."

I believe it when I see him....