The Tokyo Grand Slam, which will be held Dec 6-7 this year, is one of the most prestigious competitions in the IJF circuit. It probably ties with the Paris Grand Slam as one of the hardest tournaments in the world. Just as the Paris Grand Slam has four French players per category, the Tokyo Grand Slam will have four Japanese players per category.
In the men’s team, there are a few famous names but most are relatively unknown outside of Japan. Still, they usually can beat the best the rest of the world can offer and it’s not uncommon to see an all-Japan podium where every medalist is Japanese. The top names in the men’s team are Ryuju Nagayama at -60kg, Hifumi Abe at -66kg, Takanori Nagase at -81kg, Sanshiro Murao at -90kg and Tatsuru Saito at +100kg.
-60kg
Ryuju Nagayama
Taiki Nakamura
Kenta Sekimoto
Hayato Kondo
-66kg
Hifumi Abe
Takeshi Takeoka
Shinsei Hattori
Kairi Kentoku
-73kg
Tatsuki Ishihara
Yudai Tanaka
Ryuga Tanaka
Shusuke Uchimura
-81kg
Takanori Nagase
Kaito Amano
Yuhei Oino
Yoshito Hojo
-90kg
Sanshiro Murao
Goki Tajima
Komei Kawabata
Hidetoshi Tokumochi
-100kg
Dota Arai
Nozomu Miki
Kotaro Ueoka
Ryotaro Masuchi
+100kg
Tatsuru Saito
Kanta Nakano
Yuta Nakamura
Hyoga Ota
