Shizuka Kobayashi, a 27-year-old sergeant in the Yamagata Prefectural Police’s mobile investigation unit, will compete on the 7th in Chiba City at the Kodokan Cup All Japan Judo Championships by Weight Category, becoming the prefectural police’s first female officer to enter the tournament, Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
Kobayashi will fight in the women’s 70-kilogram division at one of Japan’s top domestic judo events. She has been balancing police work with judo, and said she wants to stack win after win and aim for the podium.
A Long-Held Goal Comes Within Reach
Kobayashi held a public training session on Oct. 26 at the dojo of the prefectural police’s joint three-unit building in Tendō City, going over throwing techniques ahead of the tournament. She has targeted the Kodokan Cup since her student days but never made it in, and she said catching the chance made her happy.
The 27-year-old is from Yamagata City. Influenced by her father, she started judo in the second grade of elementary school. She went on to attend Sohshi Gakuen High School in Okayama Prefecture, one of the country's powerhouse judo programs, where she reached the national high school championships' top eight in back-to-back years.
From Police Box to Special Judo Trainee
After becoming a police officer, Kobayashi stepped away from a judo-only life and spent her days working at police boxes, including one in front of Sagae Station. The turning point came last April, when she was named the prefectural police’s first female special judo training member. She recalled thinking at the time that it finally meant she could train in judo again.
She is now assigned to the mobile investigation unit of the Criminal Affairs Planning Division, patrolling the prefecture in an unmarked patrol car and rushing to crime scenes to handle initial investigations when incidents occur.
Three Practices a Week Alongside Night Shifts
Kobayashi resumed full-scale training and now practices three times a week alongside her regular duties. She works a night shift roughly once every three days and has had physically grueling stretches, but she still attends practice even after a night shift when she is short on sleep, and never skips voluntary training.
Because she was on a women’s judo team as a student, her training partners were almost all female. Now, of the 14 training members, only two are women, including Kobayashi, so her randori sessions against male athletes have increased. She said training against stronger opponents lets her work on gripping firmly and throwing, and that she has built power. In September, she reached the semifinals at the All Japan Police Judo Championship.
Coach Praises Her Persistence; Podium Is the Target
Her coach, Yudai Katagiri, said Kobayashi can fight with persistence and never skimps on unglamorous repetitive drills, and urged her to seize the chance and keep winning. Kobayashi’s trademark is orthodox judo that wins by throwing, with the uchimata inner-thigh throw as her specialty. Competing as a representative of police nationwide makes her feel focused, she said. The Kodokan Cup is a major stage whose results can lead to international tournaments, and she said she is excited and wants to go greedily after wins.
The tournament begins on the 7th in Chiba City, where Kobayashi will open her campaign in the women’s 70 kg division.
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