Yamaguchi, Ueno Win 2026 Japan Curling Crowns

A mix of veterans and youth, both hailing from Karuizawa, came out on top at the 2026 Japan Curling Championships.

Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi’s foursome – with Riku Yanigasawa throwing fourth stones – defeated Takumi Maeda in the men’s final for their fourth title in five years, while youthful Miyu Ueno scored three on Miku Nihira to win her second women’s crown.

The championships were played for the second straight year at the impressive BUNTAI arena in Yokohama. Just prior to this year’s event, it was revealed that the 2027 championship will return to the venue for a hosting threepeat.

The win was thrilling for Yamaguchi, whose team missed qualifying for the Olympics in Cortina and finished 5-7 at the world championship in Ogden, Utah.

“Missing out on the Olympics was incredibly frustrating,” Yamaguchi told The Curling News. “But at the same time, we could feel that we were definitely getting stronger as a team.

“That’s exactly why we wanted to win this national championship and prove our true strength.”

Yamaguchi’s Karuizawa crew went 4-0 in their pool while Maeda went 3-1 in their pool. Following championship ranking play, Maeda made it to the Page 1 vs 2 match and defeated Yamaguchi’s junior club mates skipped by Kaito Fuji by a 4-1 count.

Yamaguchi and Co. won their Page 3 vs 4 match 9-7 over veteran Shinya Abe and then defeated the Fuji juniors 6-5 in the semifinal.

In the championship final, a key Karuizawa steal made in 4-3 in the sixth end and an eighth-end deuce moved Yamaguchi to a 6-4 advantage. The final score was 6-5.

On the women’s side, both finalists won their pools at 4-0 and met in the first Page playoff game, with Ueno winning 8-5. Meanwhile, the defending champs and Olympic reps from Sapporo, skipped by Sayaka Yoshimura, walloped Ikue Kitazawa in the Page 3 vs 4 matchup by a 12-3 scoreline.

The semifinal saw Nikita eliminate Yoshimura 10-6, setting up the final – which was a fascinating affair. Nikita held a 4-1 lead after five ends and also led 6-4 coming home without hammer, but Ueno’s Karuizawa foursome managed a huge three-ender to win the match 7-6.

Following the partial retirement of Chinami Yoshida – who will continue competing in Rock League – the Satsuki Fujisawa foursome picked up mixed doubles specialist Tori Koana to play third. However, the rejigged squad only managed a 1-3 pool record and missed the playoffs.