[2008.11.24] 2008 All-Japan Junior Championships

* machine translation, inaccuracies may exist

Source: https://weibo.com/2995405924/QlRZ4eXmx

A look back at the interview after winning the 2008 All-Japan Junior Championships and securing his first World Junior Championships spot

—How do you feel about your performance this time?

My mistake in yesterday's short program was too serious, so I knew I absolutely couldn't make any more mistakes today. I’m really happy that I managed to achieve my target score. When I landed the 3A for the first time at the East Japan Championships, my body and mind were both exhausted, even though the short program was so brief. But during the period between the East Japan Championships and the All-Japan Junior Championships, I did intensive training, and that gave me a lot of confidence. I feel that I can’t just focus on the 3A. I need to keep raising my goals, not limit myself to the 3A, and work on landing all my other jumps cleanly, too. That’s the mindset I want to bring to my training. Still, adding the 3A has really made me feel that I’ve moved up from the novice level to the junior level. After all, I’ve always known that I can’t win competitions without the 3A.

—How satisfied are you with your performance?

I wasn’t satisfied with my short program, but this time, at least I didn't fall in the free skate (laughs), so I'm quite satisfied. Looking at my program component scores this time, I want to train with the goal of achieving the highest score in all five components as well. I think the two-point deduction in my short program was what pushed me to work so hard in the free skate. But originally, even if I failed to land the 3A in the short program, I didn’t want to make mistakes on any of my other jumps. So I’m really disappointed about that. The free skate was a performance that allowed me to simply enjoy myself, so I think that's good.

—You’re officially competing in the junior category starting this year. Does it feel different from last year, after all?

Although I skipped up from the novice category last year to compete at the All-Japan Junior Championships and finished third, I wanted to put that result out of my mind. Starting this year, I’ve approached every competition with the mindset that I’m a junior-level skater. The intensive training was tough, but I think it was precisely because of that training that I was able to deliver the kind of performance I did this time.

—Intensive training. Besides improving your stamina, there was also that rule where you weren’t allowed to go home until you landed your triple-jump combination, right?

Yes, there was! (laughs)

—Are you still doing that?

Yes, I am. All types of jumps. But the 3A (until I could do it in a combination) took a really long time (laughs).

—Do they really not let you go home?

Well… sometimes they do let me go home (laughs). Like when I just can’t land the jump no matter what, for example.

—What’s your goal for the World Junior Championships?

I just want to deliver a performance that reflects my own style. I feel that as long as I can bring out all the ability I have, a result similar to the one I achieved this time will naturally follow.

—Are you still feeling frustrated about the Junior Grand Prix?

At the Italian Cup, I guess I’d already had this preconceived idea of the age gap between me and the other junior skaters. In the end, I lost by such a huge margin and finished fifth, which was really frustrating.

—But will you get your revenge at the World Championships?

The main reason I wanted to compete at the World Junior Championships was that I’d lost by such a huge margin at the Junior Grand Prix. I wanted to challenge myself once again, competing as the youngest skater in the junior category this year, and see just how well my performance could hold up against the others. That’s why I’m really, really happy to have been selected as a representative.

—So you’d been aiming for a spot on the team all along?

Well, I wouldn’t say I was specifically aiming for it. For the short program, I was really determined to come in first, but things ended up going completely the opposite way! (laughs) So for the free skate, I just told myself I absolutely had to give it everything I had.

—But after your short program, Coach Abe also said something like, “Now you can let go and skate freely in the free skate.”

Yes, skate freely. I think it was great that I was able to skate with the same kind of feeling I had at last year’s All-Japan Junior Championships.

—You still have the All-Japan Championships, MOI, and the World Junior Championships coming up, so keep doing your best! I’ll be cheering you on!

Thank you!