The final will be decided by the vanguard’s point getter showdown / 55th National Junior High School Judo Tournament | eJudo

Source and text: Furuta Eiki
Photos: Shinya Henmi and Minoru Nakajima

First match at the first match venue. Saitama Sakae Junior High School’s Daiki Imai wins with an inner thigh throw against Yuwa Junior High School’s Hironari Sugihara.

The National Junior High School Judo Tournament is the biggest event in the category of competing for the top junior high school judo team in Japan. On the second day, the 21st, the boys’ team competition was held at the Nagano Prefectural Budokan (Saku City).

The top seed is Saitama Sakae Junior High School (Saitama), which won the Sanix Flag in December last year and also won the Kanto Block Tournament held 10 days ago. They are the leading favorite to win this tournament as well. Their rivals include Tokai University Sagami Junior High School (Kanagawa), which fought a fierce battle with Saitama Sakae in the Kanto Block semi-finals and is in a position to win consecutive championships this tournament, and Kokushikan Junior High School (Tokyo), which won the Judo Magazine Cup in March. In addition, there are Kyushu Block champions Nagasu Judo Juku (Kumamoto) and runner-up Miyaza Kids (Miyazaki), Kinki Block champion Nozomi Junior High School (Hyogo), Tokai Block champion Taisei Junior High School (Aichi), and Chugoku Block champion Sutoku Junior High School (Hiroshima).

[Until the Top 4 are decided]