[Reported by the League for Soroban Education of Japan. Inc., Japan] On August 8, 2024, 677 participants from all over Japan gathered in the activity hall of the National Kyoto International Convention Center to compete intensely for the Japanese Abacus Championship.

(The competition venue)

At the opening ceremony, Mr. 栗林芳树, the Industrial Education Investigator of the Industrial Education Revitalization Office of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (responsible for high schools), and Ms. 有村治子, the advisor of our League and senator, gave encouraging speeches to the contestants.

Before the start of the competition, contestant 土屋宏明, who won the Japanese championship for the 11th time last year, returned the championship flag, and contestant 宫崎耕太郎 from Hyogo Prefecture made an impassioned contestant oath. The competition consisted of individual comprehensive competition, lightning mental calculation, prefectural competition, reading-mental calculation, reading calculation competition and other events.

(Contestant 土屋宏明)

In the competition, the individual comprehensive competition that determines the Japanese abacus champion is the most eye-catching event. The whole venue was filled with a tense atmosphere, and the competition of skills heated up. After completing all six events including multiplication, division, visual calculation, multiplication mental calculation, division mental calculation, and visual mental calculation, a total of four contestants achieved a perfect full score of 1500 and advanced to the finals. In the end, legendary player 土屋宏明 emerged victorious, winning his unprecedented 12th championship. In a post-competition interview, he said, "Even after winning the championship for the 12th time, the joy and tension are still the same as the first time. I will continue to work hard and strive to win the 13th Japanese championship. "

(Contestant 青木瑛斗)

In the individual comprehensive competition, the contestant who achieves the highest score among elementary school students is awarded the title of "Elementary School Japanese Abacus Champion". This year, this honor was won by 青木瑛斗, a fourth grader from Aichi Prefecture, with a high score of 1490 points. In the interview, he said, "My goal is to become a Japanese abacus champion for elementary school students, and I have put in effort and practice for it. My dream is to become a Japanese abacus champion multiple times like the contestant 土屋宏明.