Japan's Yuto Horigome smiles with his gold medal after the Men's Street Skateboard final at Place De La Concorde at the Paris Olympics in July 2024. The United States took the silver and bronze medals. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPISteve RossThu, November 27, 2025 at 10:00 AM UTC·8 min readTOKYO, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Japan, which arguably boasts the best skateboarders in the world, gets to show them off to home crowds this week during a World Skateboarding Tour stop in Kitakyushu City in the western Fukuoka Prefecture.
Athletes from some 45 nations will vie for medals to be awarded by the World Skate organization. The tournament is considered a key performance indicator on the track to global skateboarding competition at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe sport will be inducted into the core Olympic program in Los Angeles, an upgrade from its status as a discretionary event in the two previous Summer Olympics.
Japan has racked up an impressive roster of skateboarding champions in recent years, including Yuto Horigome, winner of the Men's Street gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and at the Paris 2024 games.
Add to that standout teenager Coco Yoshizawa, who captured the Women's Street gold medal in Paris.
Gold medalist Yuto Horigome of Japan celebrates after winning the Men’s Street Final of the Skateboarding competitions in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in July 2024. File Photo by Mast Irham/EPAHorigome, born and raised in Tokyo's Koto Ward -- and currently living in Los Angeles -- said tournaments like the World Skateboarding Tour Street 2025 Kitakyushu can open doors for athletes.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"In domestic competitions, you don't really get the opportunity to skate with professional skaters from around the world. In contrast, international contests give more of an opportunity to skate alongside those pro skaters, and there are way more opportunities that come with that," Horigome said.
Japan's Coco Yoshizawa (R) holds her gold medal and Japan's Liz Akama holds her silver in the Women's Street Skateboard Final at the Place de Concorde on the second day of the Paris Olympics in July 2024. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI"Those events are often filled with skaters and fans, too, so the atmosphere is always really hyped up. People involved in the skate industry brands and contest affiliates are paying close attention to the international contests, so in that sense, there are more opportunities there."
Horigome said the sport transforming from simple pastime to Olympic event has changed the experience and galvanized Japan's competitive spirit.
Coco Yoshizawa performs in the Women's Street Skateboard Final at the Place de Concorde on the second day of the Paris Olympics in July 2024. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI"When I first started, I was simply enjoying skateboarding, learning about the street culture and its history from the older skaters around me," he said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"But, now that skateboarding is an Olympic sport and more people know about it, most skaters are approaching it purely as a sport, focusing mainly on winning contests.
Skateboarders practice their routines at Miyashita Rooftop Park. Photo by Steve Ross/UPI"In Japan, there are so many competitions now, and the level of competition is extremely high. Because of that, I think the overall skating level in Japan has become really strong."
For Japanese skateboarders, maintaining dominance as the sport enters the Olympic mainstream may be both a technical and creative challenge.
Gen Saitou arranges merchandise at the skateboard shop Stormy in Tokyo. Photo by Steve Ross/UPI"I am always skating while thinking about creating my own original tricks," Horigome said. "Right now, the overall level of skating is even higher than it was at the Paris Olympics, and everyone has their own original tricks, so it's hard to know how the judges are going to score everything.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Usually it's a contest-by-contest basis and the skaters see how the judges score specific tricks, so then we have to sometimes adjust to that."
Tom Schaar of the United States performs during the Men's Park final at the 2024 Summer Olympics skateboarding preliminary qualifications at Place de la Concorde in Paris in August 2024. Schaar won silver. File Photo by Maya Vidon-White/UPIThe popularity of skateboarding in Japan has climbed along with the country's success in global competitions.
A public opinion poll by Japanese company Insight Tech indicated that, domestically, the sport that saw the greatest increase in interest after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was skateboarding -- edging out other new events like sport climbing and surfing and placing it on the top tier of increased audience attention.
Carew Tate of the United States performs during the Men's Park final at the 2024 Summer Olympics skateboarding preliminary qualifications at Place de la Concorde in Paris in August 2024. File Photo by Maya Vidon-White/UPIDespite the sport's burgeoning popularity, "no skateboarding" signs are common in Japan's cities, and security guards or police frequently chase young people away from prime potential practice areas, where the skateboarders are regarded as a loud, disruptive nuisance.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"To be honest, it's difficult to turn Japan's skate culture into a 'skateboarding paradise' like California," Horigome said. "In Tokyo, it's really hard to skate in the streets. People often give you a cold look, and most of the time you get immediately kicked out or in trouble by security. But I was drawn to skateboarding because of the culture behind it."
Japan's Yuto Horigome (C), Jagger Easton (L) and Nyjah Houston pose with their medals after the Men's Street Skateboard final at Place De La Concorde at Paris Olympics in July 2024. Horigome won the gold medal, with Eaton and Huston taking the silver and bronze medals, respectively. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPIWith Japan's population of roughly 123 million, increased national interest in skateboarding faces the challenge of limited practice space. A recent Japan Skateboard Association survey reported that 747 skateboarding parks exist in the country, up from about 100 before 2017. A May 2024 Japan Skate Park Association study says that 475 of the parks are public.
Miyashita Park in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward took an unusual approach to the problem of limited skateboarding practice space. While the park opened in 1953, it suffered for several decades as a simple, unimproved expanse with a slide and swings dating to its opening.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSandwiched between trendy Shibuya and Harajuku shopping areas, the park area was coveted for retail space, yet the challenge of preserving the public land remained.
Shibuya Ward and developers solved the problem by relocating the park to the fifth-floor rooftop of a new shopping center on the site, and that features a skateboarding facility with seating areas, lawns, walkways, a climbing wall and a multipurpose event center.
Teen Keller Hart, one day into a visit to Tokyo from San Diego, was at the Miyashita Park skateboarding area on a recent evening to practice.
"I think it's pretty fun," he said of the rooftop venue. "It's kind of small compared to California parks, but it's fun. They don't make you wear helmets back home."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAs for his opinion of Japanese skaters, Keller said, "They're very good. ... . They're like perfect."
Young female skateboarders also have been contributor to Japan's wave of recent champions. Notable among these is 16-year-old Coco Yoshizawa, winner of the Women's Street gold medal at the 2024 Olympics.
Yoshizawa said she credits the traditional Japanese virtue of "gaman" perseverance as part of her recipe for success.
"I believe that the ability to persevere and never give up is a distinctively Japanese trait, and a strength." she said. "This allows skaters to learn and improve their skills through friendly competition, which I believe is why there are so many skaters who can perform well on the world stage.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Right now, I'm practicing every day, honing my tricks based on the big spin board, which is my specialty. I dream of the day when I can show off my skills on the world stage." The biggest world stage awaits her three years from now.
Although Japan's skateboarders have met with ample achievement, sales of the country's top-tier skateboard equipment has not reached the level achieved in cycling, fishing, or motorsports goods.
Ryota Matsumoto, manager of Shibuya skateboard shop Stormy, operating since 1977, said skateboard-related sales are expanding, especially among the young, and increasing with each generation.
A January 2025 edition of Japan's SPA! magazine reported global skateboard-related merchandise sales in excess of $3 billion, according to an industry insider.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementApplying Japan's expertise in making animation themed products, manufacturers are now putting Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! on skateboard decks, seeking to create the collectability factor that has driven high prices in trading cards and other licensed character products.
California skateboarding legends have long endorsed equipment and apparel, but they may soon have increased competition from Japan.
"I am hoping to turn my knowledge into something original, and someday I want to create a brand that will be recognized around the world," Horigome said. "There are still only a few skate brands from Japan that are widely known, but I believe that more and more Japanese brands will start making an impact globally."
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