Skip to main content

Graduating Seniors Head to the Corporate Running World

by Brett Larner

As the Japanese academic year comes to a close this month, many of this year's talented group of graduating university seniors prepare to enter the corporate team world of jitsugyodan running while others bid goodbye to their days of serious running. Below is a listing of some of the best runners in this year's graduating class and their destinations next month.

Tsuguya Asahi (Waseda Univ.) - Team Kyudenko
Soji Ikeda (Komazawa Univ.) - Team Yakult
Kenta Kawasaki (Kokushikan Univ.) - Team Suzuki
Yuki Kawauchi (Gakushuin Univ.) - Saitama Prefectural Government
Masato Kihara (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - Team Kanebo
Mekubo Mogusu (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - Team Aidem
Kazuki Onishi (Toyo Univ.) - Team Kanebo
Tomoya Onishi (Toyo Univ.) - Team Asahi Kasei
Hiroyuki Ono (Juntendo Univ.) - Team Nissin Shokuhin
Yukinori Ota (Komazawa Univ.) - Team Mazda
Takuma Sasaya (Nihon Univ.) - Team JR Higashi Nihon
Yuki Sato (Tokai Univ.) - Team Nissin Shokuhin / Tokai Graduate School
Tsuyoshi Takeda (Juntendo Univ.) - Team Suzuki
Kensuke Takezawa (Waseda Univ.) - Team S&B / Waseda Graduate School
Atsuyoshi Tobisaka (Toyo Univ.) - Team NTN
Shigeki Tsuji (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - Team Tokyo Denryoku
Hiroyuki Yamamoto (Toyo Univ.) - Team Konica-Minolta
Atsushi Yamazaki (Juntendo Univ.) - Team Subaru

(c) 2009 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Morii Surprises With Second-Ever Japanese Sub-2:10 at Boston

With three sub-2:09 Japanese men in the race and good weather conditions by Boston standards the chances were decent that somebody was going to follow 1981 winner Toshihiko Seko 's 2:09:26 and score a sub-2:10 at the Boston Marathon . But nobody thought it was going to be by a 2:14 amateur. Paris Olympic team member Suguru Osako had taken 3rd in Boston in 2:10:28 in his debut seven years ago, and both he and 2:08 runners Kento Otsu and Ryoma Takeuchi were aiming for spots in the top 10, Otsu after having run a 1:01:43 half marathon PB in February and Takeuchi of a 2:08:40 marathon PB at Hofu last December. A high-level amateur with a 2:14:15 PB who scored a trip to Boston after winning a local race in Japan, Yuma Morii told JRN minutes before the start of the race, "I'm not thinking about time at all. I'm going to make top 10, whatever time it takes." Running Boston for the first time Morii took off with a 4:32 on the downhill opening mile, but after that  Sis

Fujitsu and Toyoda Issue Statement on Circumstances of His Two-Year Suspension for Trenbolone

  Following 400 m hurdler Masaki Toyoda 's suspension for a violation of anti-doping regulations , the Fujitsu corporate team published a statement on its website, including comments from Toyoda's legal team , explaining the ruling and the circumstances surrounding the case. Toyoda was a member of the 2019 Doha World Championships team and holds a best of 48.87. Early in the morning of May 19, 2022, the Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA) conducted a doping test of Toyoda. The prohibited substance trenbolone was detected in urine taken during the test, resulting in a two-year suspension that began May 21, 2022. He did not compete at the National Track and Field Championships the next month. The amount of trenbolone detected in Toyoda's urine sample was 1.4 ng/ml, well below the minimum analytical precision of 2.5 ng/ml required by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for analytical equipment. As a general rule, if a non-specified prohibited substance such as trenbolone is dete

“The Miracle in Fukuoka” - Real Talk From Yuki Kawauchi on “Taking on the World” (part 1)

http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/column/detail/201701120002-spnavi translated by Brett Larner Ahead of his nomination to the London World Championships Marathon team, Sportsnavi published a three-part series of writings by Yuki Kawauchi on what it took for him to make the team, his hopes for London, and his views on the future of Japanese marathoning.  With his place on the London team announced on Mar. 17 , JRN will publish an English translation of the complete series over the next three days. See Sportsnavi's original version linked above for more photos. Click here for part two, " Bringing All My Experience Into Play in London ," or here for part three, " The Lessons of the Past Are Not 'Outdated.' " The Fukuoka International Marathon was held on Dec. 4 last year. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov’t) took part despite nursing injuries he had sustained in training. Falling rain contributed to less than ideal conditions during the race, but from th