
The All-Japan Judo Federation has appointed Olympic and double World Champion Keiji Suzuki as the men’s head coach.
He will be replacing Kosei Inoue, who helped Japan win five gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics. He who is retiring after helming the position of men’s head coach for two terms (spanning nine years).
Suzuki has said he doesn’t plan to make major changes and has set as his goal seven gold medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics. “I won’t mold them into shapes, and will instead make use of their characters…and enable them to fully display the skills they have,” he said.
Katsuyuki Masuchi will remain in charge of the women’s team after helping Japan win four gold medals at the Tokyo Games.