2025-26 Japanese Women's Figure Skating

[RafaelAstro]

I understand that. But, your initial comment was in response to a comment about Mone. Thats why I continued it. I like Rion too. But unless she lands her quad cleanly, her content is no more than the rest of the girls. This competition was generously scored, especially in GOE. Every judgjng panel is different. The point is that if Mone, Wakaba, Rino, and Kaori all skate clean, they will all beat both Rion and Ami unless they land 3A and quad. Do you not agree? The reason people talk about Japanese depth is because they are all capable of beating each other depending on mistakes and who is peaking at the right time. Especially this season, handling pressure will be key.

Yes, dealing with pressure this season is the most important thing, along with consistency. Rion, Rino, Rinka, Hana, Yuna, and Ami still haven’t developed that yet, while Kaori, Mone, and Wakaba have more experience and better control of their nerves. That might play a huge factor in the Olympic qualification. That’s why national results are very important, it’s a very tough competition when you have all these talented ladies competing at the same time in the same place. Only those who can deliver under pressure can make it to the Olympics, with or without ultra-C elements.

 

[RafaelAstro]

I don’t have high hopes for the Cup of China since the three girls are very inconsistent. I just hope they can do a better job and maybe one of them can place on the podium. I hope Hana feels better, and that Rinka can overcome her nerves and use her teammate Ami Nakai’s win as inspiration. At least I really like the programs we’re going to see, especially Rino’s short and Hana’s free program.

 

[Joekaz]

Yes, dealing with pressure this season is the most important thing, along with consistency. Rion, Rino, Rinka, Hana, Yuna, and Ami still haven’t developed that yet, while Kaori, Mone, and Wakaba have more experience and better control of their nerves. That might play a huge factor in the Olympic qualification. That’s why national results are very important, it’s a very tough competition when you have all these talented ladies competing at the same time in the same place. Only those who can deliver under pressure can make it to the Olympics, with or without ultra-C elements.

I agree 100%. Thats why I think the Japanese selection committee has it alot easier than most people think. With an abundance of very capable skaters, they can let the skaters decide it on the ice at Nationals. Hopefully they can keep politics out of the scoring, but you cant have everything. I just hope Wakaba isnt having major foot issues. I know she has had issues since she came back from surgery and the lack of 3A and cutting back on competitions worries me. On the other hand, she looks to be in excellent shape. We will see. If she cant make the Olympics, last weeks podium looks like a fun team to send though.

 

[RafaelAstro]

After the Grand Prix de France and the Cup of China, this next competition in Canada seems less competitive. I think Ami Nakai and Mone Chiba are in a very good position to win or make the podium. Yuna Aoki is unpredictable, you never know if she's going to deliver. Isabeau Levito is a much more consistent skater and will probably make the podium. Other skaters like Bradie Tennell or Sarah can deliver, but right now their scoring potential isn’t that high. It will be interesting to see what happens. Good luck to all the ladies!

 

[Joekaz]

After the Grand Prix de France and the Cup of China, this next competition in Canada seems less competitive. I think Ami Nakai and Mone Chiba are in a very good position to win or make the podium. Yuna Aoki is unpredictable, you never know if she's going to deliver. Isabeau Levito is a much more consistent skater and will probably make the podium. Other skaters like Bradie Tennell or Sarah can deliver, but right now their scoring potential isn’t that high. It will be interesting to see what happens. Good luck to all the ladies!

I think the biggest takeaway from this will be if Nakai can hit her 3As again. She has been inconsistent with them in the past, so proving that she can repeat her last performance will be huge for her. If she fails here, then her current momentum will take a hit.

 

[YuBluByMe]

Nakai set a high bar in France and it’s unlikely to be repeated. Especially if her 3As are inconsistent and I think they still are. I’m fairly certain Nakai’s meaning to go for two 3As in the free, but if the first one isn’t good then she won’t go for the second. This is smart as she’s lost medals due to +REPs before, but that also means her 3A isn’t consistent.

But I think Nakai’s momentum will continue as long as she qualifies for the GPF. Her 3As may or may not be consistent, but her other triples are. So she doesn’t need her 3As to podium. She needs them to win, but winning isn’t necessary. Not winning isn’t going to erase what happened two weeks ago.

Bombing and not being on the podium will. We’ll see, but Nakai’s simply not a nervous skater.

Chiba’s the one I’m worried about actually. She’s the one more likely to fall under pressure and will do so before Nakai would.

 

[Joekaz]

Nakai set a high bar in France and it’s unlikely to be repeated. Especially if her 3As are inconsistent and I think they still are. I’m fairly certain Nakai’s meaning to go for two 3As in the free, but if the first one isn’t good then she won’t go for the second. This is smart as she’s lost medals due to +REPs before, but that also means her 3A isn’t consistent.

But I think Nakai’s momentum will continue as long as she qualifies for the GPF. Her 3As may or may not be consistent, but her other triples are. So she doesn’t need her 3As to podium. She needs them to win, but winning isn’t necessary. Not winning isn’t going to erase what happened two weeks ago.

Bombing and not being on the podium will. We’ll see, but Nakai’s simply not a nervous skater.

Chiba’s the one I’m worried about actually. She’s the one more likely to fall under pressure and will do so before Nakai would.

Nakai doesn't need to bomb to miss the podium. If she misses her 3As she will likely finish behind both Chiba and Levito. Several other girls here are capable of a podium as well. I'm curious how strict the scoring will be. So far this season it has been quite lenient, even somewhat inflated. Curious if that is just an Olympic year thing. Agree about Chiba under pressure though.

 

[crystalspin]

Mone Chiba was amazing at GP Canada. I love that Romeo and Juliet program on her. I don't want to jinx her but I feel bigger podiums potentially for her...

Great job for Ami Nakai to not let the 3A mistakes affect her at all, she is still so solid, and congrats to her for making the GP final! (I know its not official but cmon, be realistic)

Yuna is an absolute treat to watch. I'm really glad she decided not to retire last season, the skating world needs people like her.

 

[RafaelAstro]

Mone Chiba was amazing at GP Canada. I love that Romeo and Juliet program on her. I don't want to jinx her but I feel bigger podiums potentially for her...

Great job for Ami Nakai to not let the 3A mistakes affect her at all, she is still so solid, and congrats to her for making the GP final! (I know its not official but cmon, be realistic)

Yuna is an absolute treat to watch. I'm really glad she decided not to retire last season, the skating world needs people like her.

Yes, gold–gold, gold–silver, and gold–bronze are always a lock for the GPF. Silver–silver and gold–4th are very likely to qualify. Silver–bronze and gold–5th may qualify but usually end up as alternates. Anything lower usually means no GPF.

 

[rabidline]

The thing that's interesting to me is JSF had this "Athletes who have not yet met the Olympic minimum score will be sent to the Golden Spin." elaboration in their document.

- Target competitions: East Japan and West Japan sectionals.
- From these, the highest-scoring athlete who meets the standard (Men: 271, Women: 205) will be selected.

She already has her minimums, but damn Saki just posted a 209 total score at West Japan.... send her to Golden Spin

 

[YuBluByMe]

She already has her minimums, but damn Saki just posted a 209 total score at West Japan.... send her to Golden Spin

Yeah, I’m thinking the exact same thing. I mean it’s send her or send no one. That Golden Spin clause was always going to make JFed look dingy and have a silly result. If a skater’s so good she’s scoring 205, then she either already has the minimums or has GP assignments or Challengers where she can get them. Miyake just so happened to receive her minimums at Kinoshita Challenger, but send her anyway since she met the ridiculous scoring metric and only recently met the international CTES. She deserves to be rewarded.

It should also be a lesson learned for JFed. This is why you do not create clauses and rules with only a select few in mind.

 

[rabidline]

Yeah, I’m thinking the exact same thing. I mean it’s send her or send no one. That Golden Spin clause was always going to make JFed look dingy and have a silly result. If a skater’s so good she’s scoring 205, then she either already has the minimums or has GP assignments or Challengers where she can get them. Miyake just so happened to receive her minimums at Kinoshita Challenger, but send her anyway since she met the ridiculous scoring metric and only recently met the international CTES. She deserves to be rewarded.

It should also be a lesson learned for JFed. This is why you do not create clauses and rules with only a select few in mind.

I think that Golden Spin clause is more about the Ice Dance teams but man.. Ikura and Koshiro are going anyway, just send Saki too

 

[rabidline]

Chiba’s the one I’m worried about actually. She’s the one more likely to fall under pressure and will do so before Nakai would.

I actually think Mone is probably the one who is the most consistent right now compared to other Japanese women. I mean, she does look nervous from time to time, but I think she and her team decided early on the content that is most comfortable to her, so that she can execute it even when being very nervous. We see it in the way she did her SP in Canada. It's a very good call for a skater like her as opposed to experimenting with new programs and new layouts.

Ami lives and dies by her 3A, and as we see last week- it's not a sure thing. It's convenient to many people when she's landing it, but when she doesn't, it's important for her to land everything else, and see where the dice fall depending on what field she's in. She has qualified for GPF on Japanese ice- there is a reason why Japan hosts GPF every Olympic season and we will see how it shakes out there for her.

 

[Joekaz]

Does anyone know how serious Higuchi's foot problems are? I know she dealt with foot problems last season and pulled out of her last challenger because of it. I'm starting to wonder if her Kinoshita performance was all illness or if it was injury associated.

 

[macy]

Does anyone know how serious Higuchi's foot problems are? I know she dealt with foot problems last season and pulled out of her last challenger because of it. I'm starting to wonder if her Kinoshita performance was all illness or if it was injury associated.

just based off what i saw i think it was 100% illness. she was visibly trying not to puke the entire way off the ice, i honestly don't know how she didn't stop halfway through the program. although i'm not sure if she's spoken at all this season on if she's still having foot issues.

 

[Joekaz]

just based off what i saw i think it was 100% illness. she was visibly trying not to puke the entire way off the ice, i honestly don't know how she didn't stop halfway through the program. although i'm not sure if she's spoken at all this season on if she's still having foot issues.

Thanks. Yea, foot pain was listed as the reason for her withdrawal from her last Challenger.

 

[RafaelAstro]

I read somewhere that it wasn’t a stress fracture, but she still needed to stop training for two weeks. She plans to skate at NHK with lower technical content, including two Salchows in the free. She wants to give it her all. I can obviously expect her not to be at her best, but the question is: how much can she do at this moment?
At least it’s good that her first competition was the fourth Grand Prix, but the second one will be Skate America just one week after that, which is not ideal for an injury. We know it’s not that serious because she didn’t withdraw from NHK, only from her Challenger, and has had plenty of time to recover. Still, I’m less confident about her chances of making the podium.

 

[macy]

i wasn't able to watch NHK this weekend, what happened with Wakaba? is she injured?

 

[Joekaz]

i wasn't able to watch NHK this weekend, what happened with Wakaba? is she injured?

Yes, her foot is still bothering her and she wasn't able to practice much. She actually skated well other than the jumps. The 2A is the only jump she did really well. Didn't have her normal explosion and height on her triples and got tired in the free skate.

 

[RafaelAstro]

Skate America looks to be like Cup of China very umpredictable, Hana Yoshida and Wakaba Higuchi are not in shape due to injuries and Rinka Watanabe is very inconsistent but she tends to do better as season goes, I wish them good luck, I still hope that Rion or Rinka can make it to the final