2025-26 Japanese Qualifying Events

[brblja]

REGIONALS
Announcement link:
https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/figure/news/detail.php?id=265
Quotas information:

https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/quota_2025_rev1.pdf

https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/qualifying_2025_rev1.pdf

Tohoku/Hokkaido Regionals (東北・北海道フィギュアスケート選手権大会)
Dates: 26-28/09/2025
Place: Hachinohe, Aomori prefecture
Venue: Techno Ice Park, Hachinohe
Quotas for sectionals:
Senior women: 4
Senior men: 3
Junior women: 6
Junior men: 7
Other info: free entry, photos forbidden, Schroedinger's open practice sessions (JSF page says none, announcement doc says 27/28th)

Kanto Regionals (関東フィギュアスケート選手権大会)
Dates: 25-28/09/2025
Place: Kofu, Yamanashi prefecture
Venue: Kose Sports Park Ice Arena
Quotas for sectionals:
Senior women: 3
Senior men: 3
Junior women: 10
Junior men: 13
Other info: free entry, photography TBD, practice sessions open if <1h before competition sessions

Tokyo Regionals (東京フィギュアスケート選手権大会)
Dates: 18-21/09/2025
Place: Koto district in Tokyo
Venue: Tokyo Tatsumi Ice Arena
Quotas for sectionals:
Senior women: 23 (including 1 exception: Mone Chiba)
Senior men: 24
Junior women: 14
Junior men: 10 (including 2 exceptions: Ebihara Daiya, Mori Ryota)
Access: free entry, photos allowed only for athletes family/friends, no open practice sessions

Chubu Regionals (中部フィギュアスケート選手権大会)
Dates: 19-21/09/2025
Place: Nagoya, Aichi prefecture
Venue: Howa Sports Land
Quotas for sectionals:
Senior women: 10
Senior men: 4
Junior women: 9 (including 1 exception: Okada Mei)
Junior men: 8
Access: ticketed entry, photography forbidden (including phone photos/filming), no open practice sessions

Kinki Regionals (近畿フィギュアスケート選手権大会)
Dates: 2-5/10/2025
Place: Uji, Kyoto prefecture
Venue: Kinoshita Academy Kyoto Ice Arena
Quotas for sectionals:
Senior women: 11
Senior men: 17
Junior women: 16 (including 3 exceptions: Oka Mayuko, Murakami Haruna, Kanazawa Sumika)
Junior men: 13
Access: free entry, photos allowed only for athletes family/friends, no open practice sessions

Chukoku/Shikoku/Kyushu Regionals (中四国九州フィギュアスケート選手権大会)
Dates: 2-5/10/2025
Place: Fukuoka, Fukuoka prefecture
Venue: Papio Ice Arena Fukuoka
Quotas for sectionals:
Senior women: 9
Senior men: 9
Junior women: 5
Junior men: 9 (including 1 exception: Uemura Shun)
Access: free entry, photos forbidden, no open practice sessions

SECTIONALS

Eastern Sectional and Pairs Preliminaries (東日本フィギュアスケート選手権大会)
Dates: 23-26/10/2025
Place: Hitachinaka, Ibaraki prefecture
Venue: Yamashin (Swimming) Arena
Quotas for nationals:
Senior women: 8 (including 5 exceptions: Sumiyoshi Rion, Nakai Ami, Watanabe Rinka, Chiba Mone, Aoki Yuna)
Senior men: 7 (including 2 exceptions: Miura Kao, Sato Shun)
Junior women: 9
Junior men: 12
Western Sectional and Ice Dance Preliminaries (西日本フィギュアスケート選手権大会)
Dates: 31/10-03/11/2025
Place: Otsu, Shiga prefecture
Venue: Kinoshita Kansei Ice Arena
Quotas for nationals:
Senior women: 10 (including 2 exceptions: Matsuike Rino, Yoshida Hana)
Senior men: 11 (including 2 exceptions: Yamamoto Sota, Tomono Kazuki)
Junior women: 14
Junior men: 11

NATIONALS

Novice Nationals (全日本フィギュアスケートノービス選手権大会)
Dates: 17-19/10/2025
Place: Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture
Venue: Kosé Shin Yokohama Skate Center

Junior Nationals (全日本フィギュアスケートジュニア選手権大会)
Dates: 22-24/11/2025
Place: Tokyo
Venue: Tokyo Tatsumi Ice Arena

Senior Nationals (全日本フィギュアスケート選手権大会)
Dates: 18-21/12/2025
Place: Tokyo
Venue: Yoyogi National Stadium, Tokyo

Seeded athletes (guaranteed Nationals spots without going through regionals/sectionals)

Senior women: Sakamoto Kaori, Shimada Mao, Higuchi Wakaba
Senior men: Kagiyama Yuma. Nakata Rio, Tsudoi Tatsuya
Junior women: Shimada Mao, Wada Kaoruko, Kushida Ikura
Junior men: Nakata Rio, Takahashi Sena, Nishino Taiga

 

[cohkaix]

@brblja hi, thanks for starting the discuss about the JSF domestic competitions. I'll edit your post to add the venues of the competitions.

 

[cohkaix]

Entry quota: https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/qualifying_2025.pdf

 

[brblja]

Wow, the senior women’s eastern sectional will be a bloodbath. (For those who can’t read Japanese: there’s seven slots for nationals, but since there’s 5 people with exceptions due to international events - only two actual slots to be grabbed at the sectional)

 

[rabidline]

Wow, the senior women’s eastern sectional will be a bloodbath. (For those who can’t read Japanese: there’s seven slots for nationals, but since there’s 5 people with exceptions due to international events - only two actual slots to be grabbed at the sectional)

I just realized today that East Sectionals has Mana Kawabe too (she's previously in the West Sectionals) so... those 2 spots are pretty much hers and Maria Egawa's provided they are healthy....

 

[cohkaix]

Mana is in the entry of Tokyo Regional, probably because now she's affiliated with Oriental Bio. Also, now Mone is under East Sectional as well (because of Kinoshita Group?) So, yes, East Sectional will not be friendly for Sr. women's...
Interestingly, other than Tokyo, the Kanto Regional and Tohoku-Hokkaido Regional are both very weak on Sr. women's side: having less than 4 entries respectively.

Mana, Maria, I would also count Yurina (did quite well during summer local competitions).

 

[rabidline]

Mone is under East Sectional as well (because of Kinoshita Group?) So, yes, East Sectional will not be friendly for Sr. women's...

Oh, right. Mone moved from Kinoshita Academy (Kinki, West) to Kinoshita Group (Tokyo, East). It is funny because as we all know Mone is originally from East Japan, so she's basically coming back.

But yeah, East is pretty full these days... oh no now I remember Yurina has that great Esmeralda SP and I'm like... I need that to escape containment (making it to Nationals).

 

[denise3lz]

Quota is revised today (Sep 16):

https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/quota_2025_rev1.pdf

https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/qualifying_2025_rev1.pdf

And JSF modified qualifying rule for Senior National this year.
Seed 3 + East/West Sectional 18 + Junior 6 +
Remaining spot to be filled by isn't selected best scored skaters from Senior Sectional and Junior National up to 30.

東西日本で枠に入らなかったシニア選手の東西大会の得点、全日本ジュニアでシニアに推薦されなかった選手の全日本ジュニアの得点、それぞれSP+FSの得点上位者を合計で30人になるまで全日本シニア出場とします。

 

[lileychristie]

And JSF modified qualifying rule for Senior National this year.
Seed 3 + East/West Sectional 18 + Junior 6 +
Remaining spot to be filled by isn't selected best scored skaters from Senior Sectional and Junior National up to 30.

Does this mean that East & West sectional each will have 9 skaters going to Nationals inc skaters with exemptions?

Which means there are 4 free slots in the East sectional instead of 2?

(I can read a bit of Japanese... yet the PDF still confuses me )

 

[denise3lz]

Senior Men:
East 7 (-2 Exemption (Miura,Sato)) = 5
West 11 (-2 Exemption (Yamamoto, Tomono)) = 9
Senior Women
East 8 (-5 Exemption(Sumiyoshi, Nakai, Watanabe, Chiba, Aoki)) = 3
West 10 (-2 Exemption(Matsuike,Yoshida)) = 8

 

[rabidline]

Senior Men:
East 7 (-2 Exemption (Miura,Sato)) = 5
West 11 (-2 Exemption (Yamamoto, Tomono)) = 9
Senior Women
East 8 (-5 Exemption(Sumiyoshi, Nakai, Watanabe, Chiba, Aoki)) = 3
West 10 (-2 Exemption(Matsuike,Yoshida)) = 8

So... hopefully Mana, Maria, Yurina

 

[rabidline]

Rika Kihira withdrew from Chubu Regionals, and therefore, will not qualify for Japan Nationals.

 

[cocteautwin]

Rika Kihira withdrew from Chubu Regionals, and therefore, will not qualify for Japan Nationals.

As expected. It's mindblowing her injury ruled her out from compiting for more their entire olympic cycle rn. However, I still believe she can make a strong comeback and healing completely it's the best strategy. After so much time off, it would have not much sense for her to rush things and compete this season while her chances to make olympic team in current circumstances are zero. It's better to use this time to get back to training step by step and make a fresh start the next season with an entire olympic cycle ahead.

 

[KiraraChin]

Kinki regionals entries and schedule are out: https://www.jsfresults.com/non_resp....htm,National/2025-2026/fs_j/block5/index.htm

Kazuki Tomono, Mai Mihara, Saki Miyake and Hana Yoshida are competing at the event.

 

[CoyoteChris]

As expected. It's mindblowing her injury ruled her out from compiting for more their entire olympic cycle rn. However, I still believe she can make a strong comeback and healing completely it's the best strategy. After so much time off, it would have not much sense for her to rush things and compete this season while her chances to make olympic team in current circumstances are zero. It's better to use this time to get back to training step by step and make a fresh start the next season with an entire olympic cycle ahead.

I wish the best for Rika and I am no orthopedic specialist.....She is one of my all time fav skaters....but I have to wonder if some injuries can not be overcome even with modern day medical science.

 

[denise3lz]

Quota is revised today (Sep 16):

https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/quota_2025_rev1.pdf

And JSF modified qualifying rule for Senior National this year.

東西日本で枠に入らなかったシニア選手の東西大会の得点、全日本ジュニアでシニアに推薦されなかった選手の全日本ジュニアの得点、それぞれSP+FSの得点上位者を合計で30人になるまで全日本シニア出場とします。

in case if my translation didn't make sense this is machine translation

The top SP+FS scores of the senior athletes who did not make the quota in the East-West competition and the All-Japan Junior scores of the athletes who were not recommended for the senior rank in the All-Japan Junior competition, respectively, will be entered in the All-Japan Senior competition until the total of the top SP+FS scores is 30.