Recently, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) announced its marathon roster for the 2026 Nagoya Asian Games. Men: Yuya Yoshida, Kazutaka Yamashita Women: Sayaka Sato, Mikuni Yada Each delegation may enter up to two men and two women in the marathon at the Asian Games. Under Japan’s selection rules, the winners of the 2025–26 MGC series (men’s and women’s) are given priority, and the second spots are awarded to the next highest-performing athletes in the 2025–26 MGC series. Yuya Yoshida’s PB is 2:05:16 (fourth-fastest in Japanese history). In February this year at the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon he finished second in 2:06:59 and was the top Japanese finisher. This will be Yoshida’s return to representing Japan in the marathon at a major multisport event after competing for Japan at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Kazutaka Yamashita’s PB is 2:05:51 (sixth on Japan’s all-time list). He competed at the Budapest World Athletics Championships. This year at the Osaka Marathon he ran 2:06:18, the second-fastest Japanese performance in the race. Sayaka Sato’s PB is 2:20:59 (10th on Japan’s all-time list). She ran the marathon at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. This year at the Nagoya Women’s Marathon she finished second overall in 2:21:56. Mikuni Yada’s PB is 2:19:57 (sixth on Japan’s all-time list). At last year’s World Championships in Tokyo she competed in the women’s 10,000m, finishing 20th. This year she switched to road racing and in her marathon debut at the Osaka International Ladies Marathon ran under 2:20 — 2:19:57, a Japanese record for a woman’s marathon debut. In addition to these four starters, JAAF named two reserves: Yuki Takei (PB 2:07:33) and Maho Uesugi (PB 2:22:11). Compared with the previous edition’s 池田耀平、定方俊树，和久夢来、大西光, this year’s Japanese squad is much stronger. The marathon at the Nagoya Asian Games will be held on September 26 — can the Japanese runners defend home turf? At the previous Hangzhou Asian Games, China’s He Jie won the men’s title, and Bahrain’s Eunice Chumba took the women’s crown. Will China hold selection trials for this year’s Asian Games? If so, there are few races left that could serve as selection events. (Major April races include the Qingdao Marathon, Dalian Marathon, etc.; major May races include the Lanzhou Marathon, Jilin City Marathon, and Changchun Marathon.) If there are no trials, who will be selected to go? #Nagoya Asian Games #Yuya Yoshida #Kazutaka Yamashita #Sayaka Sato #Mikuni Yada #marathon