Tbh, I kinda hoping to see China more in FS again than Japan blocking everyone else in all disciplines.exactly,because there was absolutely no interest in pairs and dance in japan... but things are changing quickly... nobody would have ever believed that daisuke would pick dance up... it is creating a lot of interest.. the team event has also contributed a lot to this...
pioneers are needed ! Shin Amano was a pair skater by the way... Mervin Tran and Narumi Takahashi won a bronze medal for Japan a long time ago... they split because he was canadian and couldn't get citizenship... Kihara skated with her a while back.. they were not a good fit... he was quite weak... It was a huge surprise for me when he managed to become such a good partner... I surely didn't expect it.
I think it's possible that with their recent success with the team event and world medal, they may decide to invest on pairs a little more... they are contenders for Team gold if they can secure 3 out of the 4 disciplines and not do too badly in dance... opportunities bring more opportunities