All Matches of Student Kendo Championship to Be Livestreamed for Free on July 4-5

The 74th All Japan Student Kendo Championship and the 60th All Japan Women's Student Kendo Championship, which determine the top student kendo practitioners in Japan, will be held on July 4 and 5 at the Nippon Budokan in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. Mainichi Shimbun will livestream both tournaments for free on its student kendo special website within "Mainichi Shimbun Digital." After the tournaments, all matches from the first round to the finals will be available for free on-demand streaming. Please watch the thrilling matches to decide this year's top student kendo practitioners.

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Mainichi Shimbun has been livestreaming these championships since 2019, marking the seventh time this year (the tournaments were canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). As with last year, the tournament schedule spans two days for both men and women, taking into consideration the athletes' physical condition. A total of 212 men and 120 women, who placed highly in their respective regional championships (Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokushinetsu, Kanto, Tokai, Kansai, Chushikoku, and Kyushu), will compete. These top athletes from across the country will gather at the sacred Nippon Budokan.

Among the men are strong contenders such as Soma Takashima (University of Tsukuba, 4th year), who was the runner-up last year, Jin'ya Funabashi (National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya, 4th year), who reached the semifinals last year and won the Kyushu Student Kendo Championship, and Hironari Koyanagi (University of Tsukuba, 4th year), who won the Kanto Student Kendo Championship. In the women's division, fierce competition is expected from last year's champion Yui Murata (Chuo University, 3rd year), newcomer Miwa Nakatsuji (Chuo University, 1st year) who won the Kanto championship shortly after enrolling in April, and Chika Iwahara (University of Tsukuba, 4th year), last year's Kanto champion and this year's runner-up with consistent performance. Also competing are top athletes from the Kanto region and the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya team, who achieved their sixth consecutive victory at the West Japan Women's Student Kendo Tournament in May (interrupted by tournament cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

All Matches of East-West Intercollegiate Matches to Be Streamed This Year

Mainichi Shimbun Digital will also stream all matches of the 73rd All Japan Student Kendo East-West Intercollegiate Match and the 20th All Japan Women's Student Kendo East-West Intercollegiate Match, where top athletes from the East and West compete beyond their university affiliations. In a "kachi-nuki" (win-through) format where matches continue until the opposing team's anchor is defeated, 20 men and 10 women in each division will showcase their honed skills. Enjoy the matches on your smartphone, tablet, or PC.

<Organizers>

All Japan Student Kendo Federation, Mainichi Shimbun

<Sponsors>

Japan Sports Agency, All Japan Kendo Federation, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo Metropolitan Kendo Federation, All Japan Gakuren Kenyu Kai

<Supporters>

JP Logistics, NAX JAPAN

<Host>

Kanto Student Kendo Federation

<Venue>

Nippon Budokan (2-3 Kitano-maru Park, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo)

<Livestreaming Site>

Student Kendo Live

https://mainichi.jp/kendolive/

<Timetable>

July 4 (Sat)

11:30 AM - Opening Ceremony (Men and Women)

11:45 AM - Women's Round 1

1:00 PM - Women's Round 2

2:30 PM - Men's Round 1

4:15 PM - Men's Round 2

July 5 (Sun)

9:00 AM - Men's Round 3

10:00 AM - Women's Round 3

10:30 AM - Men's Round 4

11:00 AM - Women's Round 4

11:15 AM - Men's Round 5

11:30 AM - Men's and Women's Quarterfinals

12:00 PM - Men's and Women's Semifinals

12:20 PM - Women's Final

12:30 PM - Men's Final

1:30 PM - Women's East-West Intercollegiate Match

2:15 PM - Men's East-West Intercollegiate Match

3:50 PM - Closing Ceremony

*The schedule may change depending on the progress of the tournament.