J-Arena - Season 2 / Year 2019

Devised and developed by players, wheelchair rugby is renowned for its fierce collisions and full-contact action. In 2018, Japan clinched their first-ever World Championship victory, marking the latest step in a major turn-around in fortunes for the team. Wheelchair rugby pioneer Masahiro Fukui reveals the secrets behind Japan's recent success, in particular the role of star players Daisuke Ikezaki and Yukinobu Ike. With experienced coach Kevin Orr at the helm, all eyes are now on Tokyo 2020.

Hiromi Miyake has had a distinguished career in weightlifting, making her first Olympic appearance at the 2004 Athens Games at just 18 years old. She went on to win Olympic medals in both London and Rio, and is much loved by the Japanese public for her stoicism, competitive spirit, and gentle manner. We hear about her hopes for what could be her final Olympics on home soil at Tokyo 2020, and also meet a professor of biomechanics to help us understand some of the secrets of her technique.

In para-equestrian, riders use adapted saddles and reins to control their horse and achieve accurate, artistic dressage performances. Mitsuhide Miyaji represented Japan at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. A former JRA racehorse trainer, he was left with partial paralysis and brain damage after a stroke in 2005. He uses fine fingertip movements to control his horse while his wife Yumiko assists by calling out guidance. Working together, the couple hope to make an impression at the 2020 Paralympic Games.

We explore the world of Japan's classical martial arts, the ancient predecessors of modern martial arts. Developed on the battlefield, classical martial arts techniques encompass centuries of wisdom on body mechanics and how to maximize efficiency of movement. Such skills still have great relevance for modern sports, and we investigate how athletes such as sprinter and Olympic medalist Shingo Suetsugu and Olympic speed skating gold medalist Nao Kodaira have been applying them in their training.

Badminton will be making its Paralympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games. 2009 para-badminton world champion, Ayako Suzuki, has returned to the sport as she aims for a gold medal on home soil. Known for her careful shot selection and smart strategy, the 31-year-old competes in a class for players with upper body disabilities. Having reclaimed the world number one spot, can she hold off Chinese rival Yang Qiuxia, more than 10 years her junior and leading the tally in their one-on-one battles?

Boccia is a Paralympic sport with similarities to lawn bowls or curling that demands immense skill and precision. Players use various strategies to get their balls as close to the white jack ball as possible. In the team event at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, Japan's "Fireball Japan" team clinched the silver medal. Cool technician Hidetaka Sugimura and aggressive attacker Takayuki Hirose played a key role in Rio, and we follow them as they aim to go one better and claim gold at next year's Tokyo Games.

Goalball is a dynamic team sport where visually impaired players rely on sound as they combine hard-hitting attacks, stoic defending, and shrewd tactics. It was originally developed as a rehabilitation activity for visually impaired veterans and has gone on to become one of the most popular Paralympic sports. Japan's women's team won gold at London 2012, and they're now working to hone their game and adapt to evolution in the sport as they look to reclaim the Paralympic title in Tokyo next year.

Japan is targeting 2 fencing gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The sport is also undergoing a major transformation at the direction of Japan Fencing Federation President Yuki Ota, himself a silver medal winner at the Beijing and London Olympics. Ota is working hard to attract new audiences by incorporating technology such as "sword tracers" and heart rate monitors that bring the action alive. With the Olympics approaching fast, work to incorporate these new initiatives is gathering pace.

Japan has a strong tradition of marathon running. The 1964 Tokyo Olympic Marathon was the first-ever to be broadcast live. In the 1980's and 90's Japan enjoyed a long period of success, but over recent years Japan's runners have struggled to keep pace with their East African rivals. A new project designed to improve performances will culminate in a one-off race to decide the Olympic marathon team later this year. We follow the efforts of Japan's marathon runners to get back on top of the world.

The Naginata, a pole with a curved blade at its end, was a key battlefield weapon during Japan's long history of warfare. With the advent of peace in the Edo period, the Naginata found new popularity among women, since it allowed attackers to be kept at a distance, reducing any advantage of height or strength. Today, Naginata-jutsu is still practiced mostly by women in Japan. We meet one of the martial art's foremost teachers, and follow a group of schoolgirls targeting the championship title.

Football has grown to become one of the biggest sports in Japan. We hear from former Japan team members spanning the generations as we look back at key moments and personalities in the development of Japanese football. From coach Dettmar Cramer, the "father of Japanese football" who guided the national team to bronze at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, to superstar Zico, whose presence played a key role in the early days of the J.League, we trace the compelling story of football's rise in Japan.

With skateboarding set to make its Olympic debut at next summer's Tokyo Games, Japan's top talent have been showing off their dazzling skills at the national championships. The event was held at a brand new publicly funded skatepark in Niigata Prefecture, on Japan's northern coast. The indoor venue is one of Japan's largest skateboarding facilities, and one of the few whose "skateboard park" course, with its deep and varied bowls, meets international competition standards.

In para judo, visually impaired athletes rely on feeling to sense their opponent's every move. The biggest difference with standard judo is that bouts start with a hold, resulting in frequent ippon. Five-time Paralympic medalist Satoshi Fujimoto explains how his hands receive information from the moment of contact. His throws are so precisely executed, it can be hard to comprehend that he can't see his opponent. We also speak to the German national team, visiting Japan for their training camp.

Shorinji Kempo is a martial art founded in post-war Japan that emphasizes self-defense and personal development. It incorporates both "hard" techniques such as punching and kicking, as well as "soft" techniques like throws and joint locks. Perhaps most intriguing is its highly developed understanding of human physiology, particularly the use of pressure points and energy meridians, which can be used either to disable an attacker or to treat illness or injury. We visit the main dojo in Shikoku.

Japan's strong track record in volleyball includes 9 Olympic medals. Despite the smaller average size of Japanese players, innovative skills helped the women's team win a historic gold medal at the 1964 Olympics, with the men's team following suit 8 years later. As larger overseas players adopted their tactics, Japan's successes grew rarer, but a women's bronze win in 2012 has proved the podium is still within reach. We discuss prospects for Tokyo 2020 with former star player Motoko Obayashi.

In table tennis, players with a defensive style based on backspin returns are known as "choppers." The style requires persistence and skill to force errors. At this year's World Championships, Japan's bronze medal winning women's doubles players were both choppers, highlighting the style's effectiveness. While chopping may look one-dimensional to the untrained eye, its exponents employ many subtle varieties of spin. We look deeper into the chopping style with legendary chopper Koji Matsushita.

Breakdancing or more correctly "breaking," the athletic street dance with its origins in 1970's New York, is expected to become the latest youth-focused addition to the Olympic program at the 2024 Paris Games. Its b-boys and b-girls, as they're known, perform mind-boggling acrobatics to music, displaying extreme creativity and skill. Japan is home to some top-class dancers who compete at the very highest level. We follow b-boy Shigekix, a 17-year-old prodigy with a dream of winning gold in Paris.

Japanese race walkers have been achieving unprecedented success, occupying many of the higher positions in international rankings. Olympic race walking, contested over 50km and 20km for men, and 20km for women, is a grueling sport with strict rules on walking technique that result in frequent disqualification. Despite being an individual event, Japanese athletes are approaching the sport as a team, focusing on form, information sharing, and a well-organized support network during races.

In wheelchair fencing, competitors use the same 3 weapons of foil, epee, and sabre as in standard fencing, along with the same protective gear. The key difference, however, is that wheelchairs are firmly fixed in position, restricting movement to only the upper body. This forces fencers to employ a diverse range of advanced strategies, giving a unique twist to the traditional art of swordsmanship. We meet Paralympic hopeful Shintaro Kano as we explore this demanding and lightning-fast sport.

The Japan women's field hockey team has been improving dramatically. Following their first Asian Games gold in 2018, they've gone on to defeat some of the world's top sides. The team's turnaround in fortunes is in great part down to Australian head coach Anthony Farry, who has harnessed the team's speed to create a "high press" strategy, enabling them to win the ball back quickly in the opponent's half. Farry aims to take the team to number one.

20-year-old Hikaru Mori took up trampolining at age 4, and now hopes to become Japan's first-ever Olympic gold medalist in the sport. Her mastery of the challenging "triffus," a triple somersault with a twist, has opened the door for her to compete at the very top of the sport. We explore the technical intricacies of her ten-skill optional routine. Trampoline routines are judged on both aesthetics and difficulty, and Mori is working hard to make sure she can fly higher than all her rivals.

Para high jump follows the same basic rules as its able-bodied counterpart, placing similarly exacting mental, technical, and strategic demands on competitors. Veteran para high jumper Toru Suzuki has so far competed at a remarkable 5 Paralympic Games. He employs a wide array of training methods to hone his technique and keep his body and prosthetic leg moving as one. We follow him as he reflects on his efforts at the Rio Paralympics and puts his brand-new tailor-made prosthesis to the test.

We meet 87-year-old grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi, living legend of the ninja arts, and speak with one of his instructors, an American living in Japan who has reached a high level of proficiency in ninjutsu. Keeping the secretive techniques of the ninja alive in the modern age, Hatsumi sensei has attracted countless thousands of students from around the world, even winning recognition from law-enforcement agencies such as the FBI. We explore the history of the ninja arts and their enduring legacy.

The traditional martial art of karate evolved on the islands of what is now Okinawa with rich regional influences. Today, karate has developed into a global competitive sport, with events comprising both one-on-one bouts as well as kata, specific sets of movements performed solo that embody the very essence of the martial art. We explore karate past and present with a special focus on kata and their role in passing karate's core teachings from one generation to the next.

Wheelchair tennis largely follows the rules of the standard version of the sport, but the ball is allowed to bounce twice. Players employ deft, creative chair work to make up for lack of sideways movement, dashing around the court in an instant. Japan has a number of world-class players, but the country's greatest pioneer of the sport is multiple Paralympic medalist Satoshi Saida. Now 47, he's gearing up for a final shot at the podium, hoping to crown his career with a medal in Tokyo next year.

Softball first arrived in Japan from the US in 1921, soon gaining popularity as a women's sport. Japan eventually grew to become one of the world's top teams, spurred on by their rivalry with the US, traditionally a dominant force in the sport. Using similar strategies to Japan's baseball team, Japan developed "small softball," climbing to world number one by avoiding sole reliance on home runs. We speak to former national coach Taeko Utsugi about Japan's unique approach to softball.