2017 All-Japan Weight Class Championships round-up: the winners and losers

The 2017 All-Japan Judo Weight Class Selection Championships took place in Fukuoka, Japan this past weekend. The results are up: http://www.judo.or.jp/p/40054 and though there were no major surprises, the tournament is always pivotal in shaping the future of Japan’s national team. The highlight clips, provided by All-Japan Judo Federation’s corporate sponsor, Token Corporation are here in a (very handy) playlist, and while you are there, please subscribe to the Judofan.com youtube channel.

As always, this tournament is a quasi-trials for the world championships and in an olympic year, the olympics. However, that is not without one major caveat. It’s really only a trials when the favorite wins. Otherwise, it’s more of a national championship. This was certainly the case this year, when many of Japan’s top athletes were either out due to injury, or absent due to other circumstances. In various categories, the winner was not selected for the world championship team that will represent Japan in Budapest this summer. However, the magnitude of this tournament is still quite large for many of the athletes as it will determine their place on the national team in this coming year. Though the results have mostly been determined, the official announcement will take place on April 29th, at the conclusion of the All-Japan Open Weight Championships. For a Japanese judoka, selection to the national team has huge implications in regards to sponsorship, funding, training, tournament assignments, etc. Thus, perhaps more important than determining a worlds team, this tournament can really alter the trajectory of an athlete’s career based on their results here. Here is a look at some of the winners and losers at the conclusion of this tournament.

First for the losers:

Ai Shishime (-52kg, Ryotokuji Gakuen) : Despite winning the tournament, she was passed up to represent Japan at the world championships, with the selection going to her teammate, Natsumi Tsunoda. Last year, she narrowly missed out on qualification to the olympics after finishing second in the same tournament.

Nae Udaka (-57, Komatsu) : The former world champion is the oldest member of the Japanese national team and at 32, her chances to represent Japan on the world tour are narrowing. Like Shishime, Udaka was passed up for the world championship selection despite winning, with the AJJF favoring her Komatsu teammate, Tsukasa Yoshida. 10 years Udaka’s junior, Yoshida has produced a string of podium places at grand slam tournaments, and looks to be the heir to Kaori Matsumoto at  the -57kg category.

The women’s -63kg division –  The AJJF announced that they will not be sending a representative to the world championships in this category, which is a shame not just for the athletes, but for the viewers as well!

Toru Shishime (-60, Ryotokuji Gakuen) : A year ago, he won this tournament but was denied an opportunity to go head-to-head against Takato as a final appeal for a place at the 2016 Rio Olympics. This year, after going out in the first round, he must be biting his nails, waiting to see if he still has a place on the national team going into this next year.

Daiki Kamikawa (+100kg, Keiyo Gas) : For years, Kamikawa was hyped as the next great Japanese heavyweight, and he backed that up with a world championship win in 2010, defeating Teddy Riner in a controversial final. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the peak of his career and though he has been near the top of the ladder for the last few years, he needed a better result here. If he doesn’t place either first or second in the open weight championships later this month, his chances of staying on the national team are probably pretty slim. It has been difficult to watch him struggle as it’s my personal opinion that he possesses some of the best and most pure judo in the heavyweight category.

Ryu Shichinohe (+100kg, Kyushu Electric Power) : Like Kamikawa, Shichinohe has been at the very top of the judo food chain for a number of years, but he seems to perform better internationally than he does domestically. He won this tournament in 2012 and 2013, but has not been able to repeat those performances since. Due to his solid international record, he will probably stay on the national team, but the +100kg category is quickly getting crowded and one has to wonder how much longer we will be seeing him in action.

Now, on to the winners:

Nae Udaka (-57kg, Komatsu) : Yes, she was also in the losers category, but her longevity at the top of the judo world makes this achievement extraordinary and so she deserves a spot in this category as well. To stay injury free and to be competing at this level for so long is something that is rarely ever accomplished. To add to that, she won with some really attractive judo.

Uta Abe (-52kg, Shukugawa Gakuin High School) : Abe was the youngest competitor in the tournament and though she didn’t win, a third place finish here is quite an accomplishment. She has been nearly unbeatable in high school tournaments in Japan, and her performance here confirms that she is on track to be the favorite for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Ryuju Nagayama (-60kg, Tokai University) : He proved here that his win over his university senior, Naohisa Takato at the 2016 Tokyo Grand Slam was no fluke, winning in convincing fashion for the second time in the span of a few months. There are a number of great -60kg players at the moment, but at only 20 years old, he will be awfully hard to beat for the time being. He is my pick to win the world championships this summer.

Hifumi Abe (-66kg, Nippon Sports Science University) : He won this tournament scoring ippon in all of his matches and proved without a doubt that he is the king in the -66kg category. He had three extremely tough opponents, but nobody posed a threat. At 19, he is already entering his third year on the senior national team, but will be making his world championships debut. Anything less than a gold would be surprising.

Aaron Wolf (-100kg, Tokai University) : Wolf went to war with his university elder Ryunosuke Haga in a nail-biter that went over 8 minutes into golden score. Wolf gets his first crack at the world championships this summer and he looks to be in the form of his life.

Takeshi Ojitani (+100kg, Asahi Kasei) : Post Rio Olympics, Ojitani has now won every major tournament that he could possibly win. He started with the Kodokan Cup last November, followed by wins at the Tokyo and Paris Grand Slams. Later this month, he will defend his title at the open weight championships, where he is the #1 seed. The former 2x junior world champion is slowly starting to distance himself from his rivals. During his first win at the All-Japan Open Weight Championships, a high-profile coach mocked Ojitani saying, “How can someone win the All-Japan Championships when his only technique is osoto-gari?”. That’s no longer the case with his newaza being nearly on par with his tachiwaza, adding to the fact that he’s nearly unmovable.

 

There are many more athletes missing from this list but at the risk of going on forever, I’ll stop here. Now, we wait to see how the open weight tournaments (4/16 for women and 4/29 for men) determine the rest of the world championship team roster and the national team roster going into this next year. Judofan wants to send a HUGE thank you to all of the athletes that make judo so exciting.