Japan Championship

The Japan Championship logo (2024)

The Japan Championship is an annual invitational tournament determining the Japanese Champion as well as the Japanese competitors for the World Championship. It was established in early 2022, towards the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prior to Covid, Japan did not have anything resembling a unified National Championship. Instead, prior, the country had a WCQ for the two major regions, those being West and East. These tournaments did not crown a winner, instead, the two 'finalists' earned a spot at the World Championship.

Note: Information on the Japanese WCQs pre-2014 is hard to find, making the information on this page is incomplete. It also seems that, prior to 2012, Japan did not use the West/East distinction and instead had multiple WCQ tournaments on a smaller regional scale.

Unified Japan Championships (since 2021)

2024

Date: 13 - 14 July 2024
Location: Tokyo
Attendance: 1288
Ref:
Champion: Daigo Noguchi "ゲラ" ("Fiendsmith Sinful Spoils Rescue-ACE")
Runner-Up: Yuto Kondo "ガラム" ("Fiendsmith Yubel")
Semi-Finalist: Shinichi Azuma "しんいち" ("Fiendsmith Sinful Spoils Rescue-ACE")
Semi-Finalist: Ginga Moriuchi "銀" ("Fiendsmith Labrynth")

2023

Date: 15 July 2023
Location: Tokyo
Attendance: 64
Ref:
Champion: Akira Hasegawa "ハセキョン" ("Purrely")
Runner-Up: Kazuya Sakamoto "ナナコ" ("Rescue-ACE")
Semi-Finalist: Keijiro Yamashita "でぃん" ("Labrynth")
Semi-Finalist: Mizuki Higuchi "みづき" ("Purrely")

2022

Date: 13 - 14 August 2022
Location: Tokyo
Attendance: 16
Ref:
Champion: Shuu Kanamura "マエカワ" ("Ishizu Tearlaments")
Runner-Up: Takuto Sueda "よしだ" ("Dracoslayer")
Semi-Finalist: Yuuto Satou "REAL-EYES" ("Ishizu Tearlaments")
Semi-Finalist: Takahiro Sakuma "さくま" ("Dracoslayer")

2021

Date: 9 - 10 January 2022
Location: Tokyo
Attendance: 16
Ref:
Champion: Keijiro Yamashita "でぃん" ("Branded Tri-Brigade")
Runner-Up: Kakeru Shibano "れいかーず" ("Adventurer Branded Despia")
Semi-Finalist: Akitaka Endo "EMA" ("Adventurer Branded Despia")
Semi-Finalist: Shuhei Okabayashi "あ" ("Adventurer Branded Despia")

Regional WCQs (pre-2021)

2019

WCQ West Japan 2019

Date: 22 June 2019
Location: Osaka
Attendance: 48
Ref:
Joint Champion: Kohei Tsukimitsu "つっきー" ("Trickstar")
Joint Champion: Kei Murakoshi "王子" ("Halqifibrax Trickstar Phantom Knights Orcust")
Semi-Finalist: Naoki Takeda "ガリス" ("Sky Striker")
Semi-Finalist: "くまっち" ("Halqifibrax Trickstar Phantom Knights Orcust")

WCQ East Japan 2019

Date: 29 June 2019
Location: Tokyo
Attendance: 54
Ref:
Joint Champion: Kotaro Yamagishi "すず" ("Sky Striker")
Joint Champion: Kouki Kosaka "魔鏡" ("Salamangreat")
Semi-Finalist: "エレキテル" ("Sky Striker")
Semi-Finalist: Aoi Tachiki "あおい うい" ("Sky Striker")

2018

WCQ West Japan 2018

Date: 23 June 2018
Location: Osaka
Attendance: 74
Ref:
Joint Champion: Ryuhei Arikawa "りゅうへい" ("Performapal Pendulum Magician")
Joint Champion: Taishi Okamoto "ヤケイ" ("Sky Striker")
Semi-Finalist: "ナイト" ("Sky Striker")
Semi-Finalist: Shota Inoue "翔太" ("Performapal Pendulum Magician")

WCQ East Japan 2018

Date: 16 June 2018
Location: Tokyo
Attendance: 74
Ref:
Joint Champion: Ryota Kagei "カゲイ" ("Sky Striker")
Joint Champion: Akira Hasegawa "ハセキョン" ("Sky Striker")
Third Place: Louis Takashi Hinkinson "ふぇーり" ("Sky Striker")
Fourth Place: Tasuku Kobanawa "たすく" ("Halqifibrax Sky Striker Gouki")

2017

WCQ West Japan 2017

Date: 24 June 2017
Location: Osaka
Attendance: 71
Ref:
Joint Champion: Naoki Takeda "ガリス" ("True Draco Zoodiac")
Joint Champion: Takayoshi Kasada "えくたん" ("Trickstar")
Semi-Finalist: "きーこ" ("True Draco Zoodiac")
Semi-Finalist: "LinkLink" ("True Draco")

WCQ East Japan 2017

Date: 1 July 2017
Location: Tokyo
Attendance: 66
Ref:
Joint Champion: Ryosuke Tsujimura "ひつじ" ("True Draco Zoodiac")
Joint Champion: Daiki Momiji "モミジ" ("True King Dinosaur")
Semi-Finalist: Akira Hasegawa "ハセキョン" ("True King Yang Zing Dinosaur")
Semi-Finalist: Sadao Endo ("True Draco Zoodiac")

2016

WCQ West Japan 2016

Date: 2 July 2016
Location: Osaka
Ref:
Joint Champion: Makoto Yada "バコ" ("ABC")
Joint Champion: Soichiro Kajihara "フミオ" ("D/D/D")
Semi-Finalist: Keiji Ohzawa "KG" ("Phantom Knights Burning Abyss")
Semi-Finalist: "スヨン" ("D/D/D")

WCQ East Japan 2016

Date: 9 July 2016
Location: Tokyo
Ref:
Joint Champion: Kai Satou "kai" ("D/D/D")
Joint Champion: Daiki Momiji "モミジ" ("D/D/D")
Semi-Finalist: "さわさき" ("D/D/D")
Semi-Finalist: "かろん" ("D/D/D")

2015

WCQ West Japan 2015

Date: 4 July 2015
Location: Osaka
Ref:
Joint Champion: Akira Hasegawa "ハセキョン" ("Nekroz")
Joint Champion: Hayato Kawanami "AquaBoy" ("Train Shaddoll")
Semi-Finalist: "イレント" ("HERO")
Semi-Finalist: "テトラ" ("Atlantean Mermail")

WCQ East Japan 2015

Date: 27 June 2015
Location: Tokyo
Ref:
Joint Champion: Akira Kitaya "神威" ("HERO")
Joint Champion: Issei Nakayama "鴉" ("Clownblade")
Semi-Finalist: "そーじ" ("Nekroz")
Semi-Finalist: "しもん" ("Pendulum Magician HERO")

2014

WCQ West Japan 2014

Date: 5 July 2014
Location: Osaka
Ref:
Joint Champion: Kenshi Fujita "しゃろみら" ("HERO")
Joint Champion: Kyousuke Takano "くりすてぃーな" ("Chaos Shaddoll")
Semi-Finalist: "しゃす" ("Dragon Ruler")
Semi-Finalist: Kei Murakoshi "王子" ("Chaos Shaddoll")

WCQ East Japan 2014

Date: 28 June 2014
Location: Tokyo
Ref:
Joint Champion: Yoshihito Sugama "yoshix" ("Infernity")
Joint Champion: Shunsuke Hiyama "エクス" ("Star Seraph Shaddoll")
Semi-Finalist: "こやぬ" ("Star Seraph Shaddoll")
Semi-Finalist: Hiromi Kudou "JOKER" ("Shaddoll")

2013

WCQ West Japan 2013

Location: Osaka
Ref:
Joint Champion: Atsushi Fujiwara "あつし" ("Blue-Eyes Spellbook")
Joint Champion: Kei Murakoshi "王子" ("Dragon Ruler")

WCQ East Japan 2013

Location: Tokyo
Ref:
Joint Champion: Hiromi Kudou "JOKER" ("Dragon Ruler")
Joint Champion: Nobuhiko Kuroiwa "クロン" ("Dragon Ruler")

2012

WCQ West Japan 2012

Location: Osaka
Ref:
Joint Champion: Akikazu Saito "ショウイチ" ("Inzektor")
Joint Champion: Yohei Arimura "ヨウ" ("Skill Drain Beatdown")

WCQ East Japan 2012

Location: Tokyo
Ref:
Joint Champion: Takeru Norihama "ちゃみ" ("HERO")
Joint Champion: Kota Yumoto "チャリオット" ("Machina Gadget")