Overview
- Yuna Nagaoka and Sumishi Moriguchi placed third at the final qualifier in Beijing after rising from fourth in the short program to clinch the pairs quota.
- With one pairs spot already earned at the World Championships in Boston, Japan will send two pair teams to Milan–Cortina for the first time.
- Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita finished seventh in ice dance, leaving Japan without an individual ice dance berth for the first time since the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
- Japan Skating Federation figure skating director Yosuke Takeuchi highlighted the duo’s composure under pressure and cautioned that structural hurdles in pairs development remain.
- Returning at Kansai Airport, Moriguchi said he felt released from great tension, and Nagaoka said she had even considered retiring after a poor Worlds and thanked her partner for steady support.