Overview
- As host nation, Japan has extra start slots in Sapporo, yet Kasai must still clear the qualification round to compete.
- His current form includes Continental Cup finishes of 11th, 14th and 18th this season.
- A successful qualifier would set up approximately his 580th World Cup start this weekend.
- His Sapporo results have trended upward recently: he failed to qualify in 2023, qualified and reached the second round in 2024, and qualified again in 2025.
- He says an Olympic return remains a distant goal, estimating a one percent chance of making Japan’s four-man team for Milan-Cortina.