Japanese figure skating 2024-25 season news & updates

[YukiNieve]

For those of you who wanted Marine Honda to skate ice dance: ?

宇野昌磨ShomaUno on Instagram: "Tomorrow… @shoma_un0 @marin_honda @icebrave_shomauno"

48K likes, 322 comments - shoma_un0 on June 13, 2025: "Tomorrow… @shoma_un0 @marin_honda @icebrave_shomauno".

www.instagram.com

 

[On My Own]

Those of you who wanted Marine Honda to do ice dance: ?

What perverse wishes some people espouse.

The people who wished Uno dyed his hair that colour deserve to be taken to court, too.

 

[YukiNieve]

Sena Takahashi says in an interview that he will include 4S in FS and probably 4F if he gets more consistency of that jump. He started practicing 4F when Ilia Malinin came to the Konoshita Academy's Rink and gave him an advice, so I guess Ilia's advice worked well for him.

木下スケートアカデミー公開練習 千葉百音、島田麻央らが新プログラムを披露 | WFS-Web ワールド・フィギュアスケートWeb

木下スケートアカデミーの公開練習が6月18日、練習拠点である京都宇治アイスアリーナで行われました。千葉百音、島田麻央、吉田陽菜、櫛田育良、中村俊介、高橋星名の各選手をはじめ、アカデミーのトップクラスの選手たちが練習に参加。それぞれ、2025

worldfigureskating-web.jp

 

[Wyliefan]

Wakaba Higuchi will retire after the 2025-26 season.

Figure Skating Misc (@figureskatingmisc.bsky.social)

Wakaba Higuchi announced that she plans to retire after the coming 2025-26 season. This means both she and Kaori Sakamoto are going into their final season. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/e7dc3345f70bab80247adc4b70d4516bbe999182

bsky.app

 

[Karen-W]

Kaori's SP from DOI -

https://twitter.com/x/status/1938965643144941664

Just WOW. Absolutely gorgeous. I had my doubts, but this is right up there with Alysa's "Promise" and Jason's "Sinnerman" as far as masterpiece SPs go - and easily her best SP of this Oly quad.

 

[Karen-W]

Mone's SP -

Sina Visitor System

I feel like the music is overwhelming her, but she may master it by the time the Olympics roll around.

 

[Karen-W]

More DOI videos - quality isn't the greatest, but we can form some impressions for sure.

Wakaba's SP - it's not complete - it starts right before her first jump and there's a cut right before her last jumping pass (combo), but here ya go.

Sina Visitor System

Really underwhelmed by this. It's all the sophomoric sentimentality that I feared we'd get from Kaori's SP but didn't (thank God). It does her no good to use such a tepid cover of "My Way" and there's just really nothing there for the choreographer to grab onto & turn into a decent vehicle.

Ami Nakai's SP - in two parts -

https://twitter.com/x/status/1938985508098498744

https://twitter.com/x/status/1938986568938664328

It's not bad. Music choice is a little too predictable & her presentation is maybe too on the nose/juniorish, but she's got some charm. It's certainly got better potential than either Mone or Wakaba to become good.

Mao Shimada SP -

Sina Visitor System

I like this for her. Nothing groundbreaking but she sells "Get Happy" and "Sing Sing Sing" well.

Shun's FS -

Sina Visitor System

This is so generic. I got more Firebird from Sarah last season than I'm getting from him, even though he is miles ahead of her on the PCS-front. And that's not even taking into consideration how little "fire" there is in his shirt - really hope this is just a placeholder costume.

 

[PRlady]

Kaori and Wakaba are wise to retire and not force their bodies to keep up with Mao and her ultra C jumps. Which she seems to be keeping, and her PCS is already really high.

Fingers crossed and I don’t want to jinx her, but that little girl has been waiting so long to compete Senior, I hope she’s terrific.

 

[Skaterbob]

Kaori's SP from DOI -

https://twitter.com/x/status/1938965643144941664

Just WOW. Absolutely gorgeous. I had my doubts, but this is right up there with Alysa's "Promise" and Jason's "Sinnerman" as far as masterpiece SPs go - and easily her best SP of this Oly quad.

She doesn't have the carriage for this type of program IMO. It would be better on anyone else. Hopefully she gets a new one before the Olympics but as they held onto her programs last year doubtful.

Chiba's program a little dull and Wakaba's looks like an exhibition. Very underwhelmed so far with these programs.

 

[Sktwo]

Thank you for posting these. Am desperate for some skating. I enjoyed all of them - especially Kaori’s. The Japanese ladies are so talented.

 

[Rukia]

Yuma's SP is on reddit and it's INCREDIBLE i love him so much no one is doing it like him

 

[Kateri]

Yuma's SP is on reddit and it's INCREDIBLE i love him so much no one is doing it like him

Okay, yeah, that's sensational.
link: https://www.reddit.com/r/FigureSkating/comments/1lo8c5r/yuma_kagiyama_202526_sp_i_wish_performed_at/

 

[Karen-W]

It's a good program for Yuma - certainly better than either of his programs last season. There's a lot of joy and happiness there. I'm sure it will score well, like his SPs in previous seasons have. Don't know if it will move the needle with respect to his chances of winning overall since his problems have usually come in the FS.

 

[NinjaTurtles]

Okay, yeah, that's sensational.
link: https://www.reddit.com/r/FigureSkating/comments/1lo8c5r/yuma_kagiyama_202526_sp_i_wish_performed_at/

Oooh, this really works for him. Like a blend between Dai's Perez Prado and Nathan's Caravan SPs.

 

[kwanette]

My boy Kazuki!! https://www.reddit.com/r/FigureSkating/comments/1lo8d0j/kazuki_tomono_202526_sp_thats_it_im_crazy/

 

[Karen-W]

This X account has good quality videos of all the skaters who performed at Dreams on Ice - https://x.com/moozuru

Skaters not already linked with videos are:
Rino Matsuike SP to "Lux Aeterna"
Tatsuya Tsuboi SP to "Anniversary"

Yoshida/Morita RD to "Stomp My Beat/Butterfly" - they have a LOT of work to do on this RD in the next 2.5 months if they hope to win an Oly spot for JPN at the OQE - and God help us if the rest of the RD offerings are as bland as this.

Nagaoka/Moriguchi SP to "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" - still only with the 2tw, sloppy SBS jumps, throw & SBS spins - really, their lift is still their singular quality element; all the potential in the world doesn't get them to the Olympics if they never deliver on it; also his blond dye job looks awful with their old costumes from last season.

Ikura Kushida SP to "Gee Baby, I Ain't Good to You/Hey Pachuco"
Kaoruko Wada FS to "Piano Sonata No. 0 Soumei"
Rio Nakata SP to "Aroul/Uccen"
Shunsuke Nakamura SP to "Yesterday"
Sena Takahashi SP to "You Will Be Found"
Taiga Nishino SP to "Such A Night"

 

[jenny12]

Yuma's SP is on reddit and it's INCREDIBLE i love him so much no one is doing it like him

Yes! Like DAMN, he’s just a brilliant, brilliant skater. In terms of skating quality, in an absolute class by himself.

 

[YukiNieve]

With this SP, Yuma is making more connections with audience, which pushes him get out of his comfort zone (and it seems working well).

I like Rio's SP performance a lot. It was the same as last year, and his jumps weren't there that day, but he really expressed the music well.

ETA
Oh and I love how Rino Matsuike's FS was made into an SP. She skates so lightly and gracefully, like a butterfly flying from flower to flower.

 

[PRlady]

Uh I expected Stevie Wonder. But it’s a great program.

 

[jenny12]

Uh I expected Stevie Wonder. But it’s a great program.

Yeah, I wish (pun not intended) I was hearing Stevie’s voice. Is it because of licensing fees?

 

[denise3lz]

Ayumi KAGOTANI who retired as single skater challenges Pair skating and become Kinoshita Academy trainee.

【フィギュア】籠谷歩未ペア挑戦　木下アカデミー練習生「温かく見守ってくださると嬉しいです」 - フィギュア : 日刊スポーツ

フィギュアスケートで京都・宇治市を拠点に活動する木下アカデミーは1日までに公式サイトを更新し、練習生に籠谷歩未（24）が名を連ねた。「この度、ペアの競技に挑戦… - 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

籠谷 歩未 | 木下スケートアカデミー

国際大会で活躍ができるフィギュアスケーターの育成をいたします。

kinoshitaacademy.com

Team up with Lucas Tsuyoshi HONDA ?

 

[Karen-W]

Ayumi KAGOTANI who retired as single skater challenges Pair skating and become Kinoshita Academy trainee.

【フィギュア】籠谷歩未ペア挑戦　木下アカデミー練習生「温かく見守ってくださると嬉しいです」 - フィギュア : 日刊スポーツ

フィギュアスケートで京都・宇治市を拠点に活動する木下アカデミーは1日までに公式サイトを更新し、練習生に籠谷歩未（24）が名を連ねた。「この度、ペアの競技に挑戦… - 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

籠谷 歩未 | 木下スケートアカデミー

国際大会で活躍ができるフィギュアスケーターの育成をいたします。

kinoshitaacademy.com

Team up with Lucas Tsuyoshi HONDA ?

Possible? She's too old for juniors, whereas he still has another season of junior eligibility - he turns 23 in September.

Just watched a couple of the other videos from DOI. I'm getting strong Camden vibes from Kazuki - well, at least with regard to the shirt and the jumps, lol. Rio's program is okay - kind of like Mao, good enough for the last season in juniors, nothing groundbreaking.

 

[YukiNieve]

Team up with Lucas Tsuyoshi HONDA ?

Bingo!

Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda and Ayumi Kagotani have formed a new pair:

本田ルーカス剛史と籠谷歩未が新ペア結成　フィギュア木下アカデミー - Deep Edge Plus

フィギュアスケートのペアで昨季世界ジュニア選手権に出場した男子の本田（ほんだ）ルーカス剛史（つよし）が、女子の籠谷歩未（かごたに・あゆみ）と新ペアを結成することが１日、２人が所属する木下アカデミーへの取材で分かった。大 […]

deepedgeplus.kyodonews.jp

 

[skatingguy]

Yeah, I wish (pun not intended) I was hearing Stevie’s voice. Is it because of licensing fees?

I think it's better without the lyrics - Wonder's vocal makes it more difficult to skate too - also the song is sung in first person, and Kagiyama is not a young black man.

 

[jenny12]

I think it's better without the lyrics - Wonder's vocal makes it more difficult to skate too - also the song is sung in first person, and Kagiyama is not a young black man.

Oh true. I forgot that some of the lyrics are pretty specific to Wonder's experience.

 

[kwanette]

Performatively..is that the best Yuma we have seen?

Possible? She's too old for juniors, whereas he still has another season of junior eligibility - he turns 23 in September.

Just watched a couple of the other videos from DOI. I'm getting strong Camden vibes from Kazuki - well, at least with regard to the shirt and the jumps, lol. Rio's program is okay - kind of like Mao, good enough for the last season in juniors, nothing groundbreaking.

That's Kazuki's costume from "Underground" from 2 yrs ago..

 

[YukiNieve]

(partly cross-posting)
This articles says Kao Miura has two candidates for FS for now:
https://digital.asahi.com/articles/AST6N7VDNT6NOXIE00MM.html?ptoken=01JZ41KJK7VDDTVXDQ5SV68B46　

FS: The Phantom of the Opera (Choreographer: Benoit Richaud)
FS: The Last Samurai (Choreographer: Eiji Iwamoto）

Kao chose The Last Samurai himself and picked POTO from the choices Benoit suggested. He will make a decision after trying to skate both for a while.

According to Benoit, the theme of SP is a story about "a robot that wants to be human and becomes human."

Kao plans to do:
SP: 4S-3T, 3A, 4T
FS: 4Lo, 4F, 3A, 4S-Eu-3F, 4T-3T, 4T, 3A-2A (He may reduce the number of quads from 5 to 4.)

He has lingering muscle strain in his left sigh that he needs to address carefully.

 

[Aceon6]

Yuma's SP is on reddit and it's INCREDIBLE i love him so much no one is doing it like him

The footwork sequence is everything I hoped it might be and is bound to get better. Go, Yuma!

 

[YukiNieve]

Cross-posting

Yuma Kagiyama's 2025-26 program
FS: Turandot, special arrangement by Christopher Tin
Choreography: Lori Nichol
Source: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/202507040001646.html

(excerpt)
Nichol paid her attention to "Turandot," including the new finale, which premiered at the Washington National Opera in May, 2012.

Nichol asked Christopher Tin, the Grammy Award-winning composer who created the music, to create a special four-minute arrangement just for Kagiyama. The recording took place at Abbey Road Studios in London, the most famous studio in the world known for The Beatles. The performance was a collaboration of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the chorus group for the English National Opera.
--

So apparently Tin's Nessun Dorma has a new final chapter added by him.

 

[Karen-W]

The following X thread is a report from the JSF Senior Training Camp, currently underway -

Miura is still feeling pain in his left thigh from his previous injury & will not participate; Sato has a mild right ankle sprain & also will not participate.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1941329620852408347