Interview: eJudo Editorial Department Photo: Shinya Inui
The 2022 Maruchan Cup All Japan Boys’ Judo Tournament, which competes for the best boys’ judo in Japan in team competitions, was held on the 18th at the Tokyo Budokan Daibu Dojo (Adachi-ku, Tokyo), where 16 teams were allowed to participate. Chosei Junior High School (Nagano) won the championship for the first time. The school won the championship following the national junior high school tournament in August, and won both the two national tournaments in the junior high school category held this term.
Chosei Saku on this day was without Kei Suzuki, the ace who led the All-Japan Junior High School Tournament V with all wins, due to injury. Coach Kakita Keisuke took a step back from the tournament, saying, “Look at the content rather than winning or losing. In their first match against Tajima Junior High School (Saitama), they won with a score of 1-0, leveraging Kanazawa’s “Ippon”, and the team got on the flow at once.
