This weekend sees the Japan Karate Federation 50th All-Japan Karate-do Championships in Tokyo. Personally, I’m lucky to be free on Sunday to watch in person. The Nippon Budokan always has a great atmosphere!

For the rest of you, my friends around the world interested in watching Japan’s best karate athletes fight for the Emperor’s and Empress’s Cups, I’ve sought out all the info you need to enjoy the championships online.

Scroll down for all the links and who to watch.

Team Kumite on Saturday, December 10th

Day one of nationals is at the Tokyo Budokan on Saturday 10:00–17:00. A team kumite elimination tournament with teams from each of Japan’s 47 prefectures, it’s closed to spectators but will be streaming on these feeds:

Court A: https://youtu.be/8llRhiB8cBk
Court B: https://youtu.be/TUQ2cqTUmX4 (see finals here)
Court C: https://youtu.be/w0A7NvJhh-M
Court D: https://youtu.be/HZHd3181ww8
Court E: https://youtu.be/tOr081yN9Xw
Court F: https://youtu.be/JGtMLgmH_lM

Courts A–D will hold men’s matches, Courts E and F will be women’s. There is no team kata.

Schedule

10:00	First rounds
11:20	Second rounds
13:00	Lunch break
13:40	Third rounds
14:40	Quarter-finals
15:15	Semi-finals
16:00	Women’s final
16:25	Men’s final

Individual Kumite & Kata on Sunday, December 11th

Day two is at the larger Nippon Budokan on Sunday. Individual kumite and kata events are on four areas, projected to run 09:00–17:00.

You can follow the preliminary rounds on YouTube, with men on Courts A & B, women on C & D. The medal bouts will stream on NHK E (VPN required) from 15:30.

Court A: https://youtu.be/7ceuj_9JqE4
Court B: https://youtu.be/rniMHt-nYR8
Court C: https://youtu.be/al1bKsrX-EI
Court D: https://youtu.be/WOuZ6fCVq98
Finals Court: https://plus.nhk.jp/watch/ch/e1

To watch the finals and semi-finals, those with an IP address in Japan can stream them on NHK Educational TV (NHK Eテレ). If you’re outside of Japan, you can hopefully access the stream with a VPN. It won’t be taking subscription fees away from anybody.

Watching live is best, of course, but you can expect the JKF to keep the streams up on YouTube afterward, for events on both days. Some finals might be up after a couple weeks on their official channel.

Schedule

09:00	Kumite first rounds
10:10	Kumite second rounds
11:00	Kata first qualifying rounds (shitei kata)
11:50	Kata second qualifying rounds (shitei kata)
12:40	Kumite third rounds
13:20	Kata ranking rounds
13:40	Kumite fourth rounds
14:00	Kata third-place playoffs
14:30	Ceremony
15:35	Women’s kumite semi-finals
15:53	Men’s kumite semi-finals
16:15	Women’s kata final
16:25	Men’s kata final
16:35	Women’s kumite final
16:45	Men’s kumite final

Ones to Watch (non-exhaustive list)

Women’s Kumite
Court C:

• #1 Saito Ayaka, last year’s champion

Court D:

• #29 Uekusa Ayumi representing Japan Karate Federation
• #56 Sawae Yuzuki representing the Student Federation (Teikyo University)

Men’s Kumite
Court A:

• #1 Sakiyama Yusei last year’s champion
• #15 Shimada Rikito representing Japan Karate Federation
• #20 Sonota Masato representing Ehime Prefecture (Keio University)
• #25 Nakano Soichiro representing Kyoto Prefecture (Olympian, Teikyo alumnus)

Court B:

• #41 Ikezawa Kai representing the Student Federation

Women’s Kata
Pool 1 on Court C:

• #3 Taira Sae representing the ‘Businessman’s Federation’, performance c3 & c11 (Teikyo Alumnus)
• #7 Ono Maho representing Kanto Region, performance c7 & c15 (Keio Alumnus)

Pool 2 on Court D:

• #14 Shimizu Kiyou representing Japan Karate Federation, performance d6 & d14

Men’s Kata
Pool 1 on Court A:

• #4 Moto Ryuji representing Kanto Region, performance a4 & a12 (Teikyo alumnus)
• #7 Moto Kazumasa representing the Businessman’s Federation, performance a7 & a15 (Teikyo alumnus)

Pool 2 on Court B:

• #10 Funada Aoi representing the Student Federation, performance b2 & b11 (Teikyo University)
• #15 Arimoto Koji representing Tohoku Region, performance b7 & b16 (JKS HQ Instructor)

So there you have it. Enjoy!