At the 56th All Japan Business Corporate Individual Judo Championships held at the Oama Daishin Arena in Sakai, Osaka, JR Eastern athletes secured notable podium finishes and vital qualification berths for the upcoming Kodokan Cup All Japan Judo Weight Class Championships.
The tournament, which ran from September 5 to September 6, brings together corporate team competitors across seven weight classes in both the men’s and women’s divisions to determine the national business-class champions. For JR Eastern, the two-day competition yielded two individual titles, three third-place finishes, and an additional qualification secured through a tense playoff match.
In the women's 52kg division, JR Eastern's Yuri Nakauchi beat a demanding bracket to claim the gold medal. After receiving a walkover in the opening round, Nakauchi advanced through the second round and the semifinals by securing combined ippon victories utilizing throwing techniques followed by hold-downs. In the final against Komatsu’s Hibiki Shiraishi, Nakauchi broke her opponent’s balance early in the match and immediately secured a holding technique to take an ippon victory and the tournament title.
Akari Omori delivered an equally dominant performance for the team in the 63kg category. Omori opened her tournament with an ippon via lateral hanging (yoko-gake) against Rimi Kawachi of the Self-Defense Forces Physical Training School. She then advanced past Sakura Tamaki of Taiyou Hoikuen via a hansoku-make penalty after three shidos in the quarterfinals, before scoring a waza-ari with a sweeping makikomi throw (harai-makikomi) in the semifinal against Aorari Yamaguchi of Park24. In the final against Komatsu’s Kurumi Ishoan, Omori maintained offensive pressure throughout the bout, securing a yuko via outer makikomi (soto-makikomi) to seal the championship.
Alongside Nakauchi and Omori, three other JR Eastern competitors fought their way to bronze medals in their respective weight classes.鈴 神谷 (Rin Kamiya) finished third in the 48kg division, while Mizuki Kagawa placed third in the 57kg category, and Sakana Saito earned a third-place finish in the 78kg division.
In the 48kg category, Rin Kamiya opened with a yuko advantage via floating technique (uki-waza) against Haruka Nakaya of Nippon Ace Support, followed by a waza-ari victory via tomoe-nage against Ryoko Yoshida of Komatsu. Kamiya ultimately fell in the golden score period of the semifinals to Hikaru Yoshioka of the Self-Defense Forces Physical Training School, settling for third place.
Imari Nozaki faced a setback in the 48kg quarterfinals, dropping a decision via waza-ari on a sumi-otoshi throw to Namimi Setoguchi of the Self-Defense Forces Physical Training School. However, Nozaki rebounded in the Kodokan Cup qualification playoff match, defeating Reika Arai of Taiyou Hoikuen via a combined ippon using a foot sweep (deashi-barai) and a side-four-corner hold (yoko-shiho-gatame) to punch her ticket to the national tournament.
In the 57kg bracket, Mizuki Kagawa secured an opening win in golden score via a body drop (tai-otoshi) against Haruna Sato of Nippon Ace Support, then advanced past Rin Takeuchi of Park24 via penalties in golden score before falling in the semifinals to Haruka Funakubo of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance. Teammate Moa Ono exited the same 57kg division in the second round, dropping a golden score bout to Momo Tachikawa of ALSOK after defeating Minami Tsushima of Shidax in the first round.
In the 63kg category, Honami Kosai fell in her opening match in golden score to Rin Eguchi of Komatsu.
In the 78kg division, Sakana Saito earned her third-place finish by defeating Ayaka Nakamura of Kiraku Dojo via penalties in the quarterfinals before dropping a semifinal match to Rinoko Wada of Park24.
The results at the Oama Daishin Arena expand JR Eastern’s contingent for the Kodokan Cup All Japan Judo Weight Class Championships, scheduled for November. With 11 athletes having already secured prior qualification, the three newly qualified competitors bring the team’s total representation heading into the national showcase.
