| Event | PokĆ©mon Japan Championships 2026 (PJCS2026) (ćć±ć¢ć³ćøć£ćć³ćć£ć³ććŖć³ć·ććć¹2026) |
|---|---|
| Location |  Yokohama, Japan |
| Date | 6ā7 June 2026 |
| Attendance | 124 MA + 117 SR + 121 JR in attendance (128 MA + 128 SR + 128 JR qualified) |
| Videogame | PokƩmon Champions |
| Season | 2026 SeasonĀ āĀ Regulation Set M-A |
| Format | 7 Bo1 Swiss rounds + Bo3 single-elimination top 64 Closed team lists up to top 16 Open team lists from top 8 onwards |
| Organizer | The PokƩmon Company (TPC) |
Check the organizer’s websiteĀ hereĀ for further info!
Table of Contents
Teams and results
Top cut
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS | Replica |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5-2 | | Hiroshi Onishi (coćŖ) | 2026Ā Worlds TravelĀ Award |       |  | 42TTH SSH9V |
| 2 | 4-3 | | Rintaro Arai (ć¢ć©ćć³) | 2026 Worlds Travel Award |       | | G8JVK BFKXA |
| 3 | 4-3 | | Shota Hongu (ć½ćććć) | 2026 Worlds Travel Award |    | | Ā |
| 4 | 4-3 | | Rinya Kobayashi (R) | 2026 Worlds Travel Award | | | Ā |
| 5 | 5-2 | | Kohei Watanabe (ćÆćæćć³ć¦) | 2026 Worlds |     | | Ā |
| 6 | 4-3 | | Ayumu Iwasaki (ć”ććć¾) | 2026 Worlds | | | Ā |
| 7 | 4-3 | | Ko Tsukide (ćµćć°ć) | 2026 Worlds | | | Ā |
| 8 | 3-4 | | Ryusei Yamane (ććć) | 2026 Worlds | | | Ā |
| 9 | 6-1 | | Kazuki Sumiya (ćć«ć¼ć) | 2026 Worlds |      | Ā | 39939 7701M |
| 10 | 6-1 | | Aki Shibuya (ćć ćć) | 2026 Worlds |   | Ā | H67CY KPSF2 |
| 11 | 5-2 | | Takumi Soma (ć¢ć«ć) | 2026 Worlds |    | Ā | Ā |
| 12 | 5-2 | | Kazuki Ogushi (ććØć) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 13 | 4-3 | | Yuto Kimura (ćć ) | 2026 Worlds |    | Ā | UXV1J RJA22 |
| 14 | 4-3 | | Kota Kawabe (KOOTA) | 2026 Worlds |  | Ā | U3QKS 37W85 |
| 15 | 4-3 | | Masahiro Ito (ććÆć) | 2026 Worlds |   | Ā | SW4HJ 4JLHC |
| 16 | 4-3 | | Masato Ii (Uch) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 17 | 7-0 | | Shohei Kimura (ćć³ć¹) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 18 | 6-1 | | Tomohiro Seki (ć³ć”ć) | 2026 Worlds |    | Ā | Ā |
| 19 | 6-1 | | Naoto Mizobuchi (ć³ć±ćććŖ) | 2026 Worlds |  | Ā | Ā |
| 20 | 6-1 | | Yuma Kinugawa (ććć¬ćÆ) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 21 | 5-2 | | Yuki Shimizu (yuki_rotom) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 22 | 5-2 | | Fumiaki Suwa (ćć) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | U1R37 MX58K |
| 23 | 5-2 | | Hidetsuna Shimizu (ć¤ćŖ) | 2026 Worlds |  | Ā | 1X4RS Y0FM6 |
| 24 | 5-2 | | Iruto Konno (VRć¢ć³ć»ć) | 2026 Worlds |  | Ā | Ā |
| 25 | 4-3 | | Yuya Wakasugi (ćć¼) | 2026 Worlds |   | Ā | Ā |
| 26 | 4-3 | | Takumi Sakurai (S.REM) | 2026 Worlds |   | Ā | Ā |
| 27 | 4-3 | | Takeru Mizumoto (ćæćć) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 28 | 4-3 | | Buntaro Komori | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 29 | 4-3 | | Hironori Seino (ćŗćć”ć) | 2026 Worlds |  | Ā | Ā |
| 30 | 4-3 | | Yuya Yamamoto (ć”Lal’C) | 2026 Worlds |   | Ā | Ā |
| 31 | 4-3 | | Shu Inokuchi (ćć«ć“ć£ć“) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 32 | 4-3 | | Kazuki Kobayashi (ćµććć) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | QCHMN 0E06J |
| 33 | 6-1 | | Hyuma Hara (ćć¼ć«ć) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 34 | 6-1 | | Tomoki Kinoshita (ćć¬ć¼ćć¼) | 2026 Worlds |   | Ā | Ā |
| 35 | 5-2 | | Kota Tomita (TOMKOć¼) | 2026 Worlds |   | Ā | Ā |
| 36 | 5-2 | | Sho Akiyama (ć”ć¬ć·ćć¢ć³) | 2026 Worlds |  | Ā | Ā |
| 37 | 5-2 | | Satoru Mutsuno (ćŖćććÆćć) | 2026 Worlds |  | Ā | Ā |
| 38 | 5-2 | | Kyosuke Kishibe (mxććć£x) | 2026 Worlds |   | Ā | HCQX4 DW98P |
| 39 | 5-2 | | Akito Muratsubaki (ćć«ć¢ćć) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 40 | 5-2 | | Takuma Yamazaki | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 41 | 5-2 | | Shota Nakamichi (ćć®ćć³V) | 2026 Worlds |    | Ā | YM0LR UB98P |
| 42 | 5-2 | | Tomohisa Okuno (ć¾ćµć) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 43 | 5-2 | | Takuya Morii (ć«ć¼ć) | 2026 Worlds |  | Ā | 35B6Q NP51T |
| 44 | 5-2 | | Eita Katagiri (YURIN) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 45 | 5-2 | | Masato Fukuda | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 46 | 5-2 | | Takumi Miyamoto | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 47 | 4-3 | | Taisei Tsukamoto (ABć¦ćć¶ć) | 2026 Worlds |   | Ā | Ā |
| 48 | 4-3 | | Kengo Hirata (ćæćŖćØćØćć) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 49 | 4-3 | | Shoma Honami (ććØć©) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 50 | 4-3 | | Shuta Endo | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 51 | 4-3 | | Ryoma Okamoto (ćććć¾) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 52 | 4-3 | | Shohei Asakura (ććć£ć”ćć) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 53 | 4-3 | | Shota Fukumoto | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 54 | 4-3 | | Katsumi Miyake | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 55 | 4-3 | | Sota Shimatani | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 56 | 4-3 | | Shingo Yasuda (ćććć) | 2026 Worlds |  | Ā | Ā |
| 57 | 4-3 | | Takuya Honma (ććæććØ) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 58 | 4-3 | | Gakuto Akiyama (ćć±ć) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 59 | 4-3 | | Yuichi Sasaki (ćććć”) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | 3279M VLM5Q |
| 60 | 4-3 | | Itoshi Iwadate (ćććØććØ) | 2026 Worlds |  | Ā | KSLEC 3VMBC |
| 61 | 4-3 | | Saiki Kawai (KĆff) | 2026 Worlds |    | Ā | Ā |
| 62 | 4-3 | | Daiki Sudo (ććć½ć) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 63 | 3-4 | | Kaito Arii (ćć¼ćÆ) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | Ā |
| 64 | 3-4 | | Kentaro Matsumoto (ć¾ć¤ćć) | 2026 Worlds | | Ā | QJVKS U2Y7L |
The top 64 players at the end of the Swiss rounds advanced to the top cut!
Teams and results - Seniors & Juniors
Senior Top 2
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS | Replica |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4-3 | |
Ryusei O. | 2026 Worlds Travel Award |
|
|
|
| 2 | 5-2 | |
Soma K. | 2026 Worlds Travel Award |
|
|
Junior Top 2
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS | Replica |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6-1 | | Hideo U. | 2026Ā Worlds TravelĀ Award | | | Ā |
| 2 | 5-2 | | Kazutaka H. | 2026Ā Worlds TravelĀ Award | | | Ā |
Streaming
The event is broadcast live onĀ YouTubeĀ andĀ NiconicoĀ by TPC, in Japanese, with Motochika Nabeshima / Erumu,Ā Shohei Taguchi, Hakushu Takeuchi and RefuĀ as casters, and Reiko Kosugi and Nashiko Momotsuki as hosts.
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Kento Hosoda |
vs | Shintaro Ito  |
| R1 | Yuma Kinugawa |
vs | Kaito Arii |
| R2 | Taisei Tsukamoto |
vs | Shohei Asakura |
| R2 | Yuya Wakasugi |
vs | Masahiro Ito |
| R3 | Hideyuki Taida |
vs | Hiroshi Onishi |
| R3 | Yuya Yamamoto |
vs | Sogo Nishioka   |
| R4 | Naoto Mizobuchi |
vs | Kazuki Sumiya |
| R4 | Kota Tomita |
vs | Rinya Kobayashi |
| R5 | Satoru Mutsuno |
vs | Tomohiro Seki |
| R5 | Hyuma Hara |
vs | Hidetsuna Shimizu |
| R6 | Yuki Shimizu |
vs | Kyosuke Kishibe |
| R6 | Yuto Kimura |
vs | Naoya Osumi  |
| R7 | Kohei Fujita  |
vs | Shu Inokuchi |
| R7 | Takuya Honma |
vs | Hiroki Nishimoto |
| Top 64 | Yuichi Sasaki |
vs | Aki Shibuya |
| Top 64 | Shoma Honami |
vs | Rintaro Arai |
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 32 | Ko Tsukide |
vs | Yuma Kinugawa |
| Top 32 | Kazuki Ogushi |
vs | Naoto Mizobuchi |
| Top 16 | Kota Kawabe |
vs | Ayumu Iwasaki |
| Top 16 | Shota Hongu |
vs | Takumi Soma |
| Top 8 | Rinya Kobayashi |
vs | Kohei Watanabe |
| Top 8 | Ryusei Yamane |
vs | Shota Hongu |
| Top 4 | Shota Hongu |
vs | Rintaro Arai |
| Top 4 | Rinya Kobayashi |
vs | Hiroshi Onishi |
| Junior Finals | Kazutaka H. |
vs | Hideo U. |
| Senior Finals | Ryusei O. |
vs | Soma K. |
| Masters Finals | Rintaro Arai |
vs | Hiroshi Onishi |
Usage stats
Participating players
The 2026 Japan Championships is open only to the players that qualified through the following criteria:
- Top 128 playersĀ in theĀ Japan Championships Qualifier
This tournament is also invite-only: players needed to qualify to it by placing top 640 amongst the players in JapanĀ in the Global Challenge.
Venue and schedule
The tournament is held in Exhibition Halls A, B, C and DĀ of the following location:
PACIFICO Yokohama
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1-chÅme-1-1 Minatomirai, Nishi Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 220-0012
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Players must be in the venue by 6 June at 9:00 JST (00:00 UTC) for the players meeting.
Players still on the run in Day 2 must be in the venue by 7 June at 8:30 JST (21 June at 23:30 UTC) for Junior players, and at 9:00 JST (00:00 UTC) for Senior and Masters players.
The tournament structure is as follows. Players play up to 7 best-of-1 Swiss rounds with closed team lists. Then, the 64 best players advance to a best-of-3 single-elimination bracket. There will be open team lists starting on top 8.
Prizes
This event is an official tournamentĀ and is part of theĀ 2026 official circuitĀ in Japan.
Qualified players play forĀ invites to the 2026 World Championships, with the highest-placed players earning Travel Awards. All participating players receive the PokĆ©mon Champions title “PJCS2026 Challenger“.
| Placement | Prize |
|---|---|
| Champion | Invite to the 2026 World Championships + Travel Award Champion trophy + PokĆ©mon Champions title “PJCS2026 Champion” + PokĆ©mon HOME medal + original cap & T-shirt |
| Finalist | Invite to the 2026 World Championships + Travel Award Finalist trophy + PokĆ©mon Champions title “PJCS2026 Finalist” + PokĆ©mon HOME medal + original cap & T-shirt |
| Semifinalists | Invite to the 2026 World Championships + Travel Award Top 4 trophy + PokĆ©mon Champions title “PJCS2026 Elite” + PokĆ©mon HOME medal + original cap & T-shirt |
| 5th to 8th | Invite to the 2026 World Championships PokĆ©mon Champions title “PJCS2026 Leader” + original cap & T-shirt |
| 9th to 32nd | Invite to the 2026 World Championships Original cap & T-shirt |
| 33rd to 64th | Invite to the 2026 World Championships |
Overview
The PokƩmon Japan Championships, also known as JCS or PJCS, is the most important VGC competition for players in Japan, where TPC is responsible for the circuit, and is the only tournament through which players in Japan can earn invites to the World Championships.
It is the 16th edition of the Japan National Championships since its inception in 2009, and the 10th edition under the “PokĆ©mon Japan Championships” name in use since 2016. It has been celebrated every year except in 2011 (due to the Fukushima disaster) and 2020 (due to the COVID-19 pandemics). See the previous editions:
- 2009, won by Takahiro Akai
- 2010, won by Ryo Tajiri
- 2012, won by Satoru Masukata
- 2013, won by Ryosuke Kosuge, eventual 2013 Worlds finalist
- 2014, won by Yosuke Isagi, eventual 2015 Worlds semifinalist
- 2015, won by Shoma Honami, eventual 2015 World Champion
- 2016, won by Hideto Kotake
- 2017, won by Ryota Otsubo, eventual 2017 World Champion
- 2018, won by Hirofumi Kimura, eventual 2019 Worlds finalist
- 2019, won by Hirofumi Kimura for the 2nd time
- 2021, won by Kohei Fujita
- 2022, won by Kentaro Matsumoto
- 2023, won by Kaito Arii
- 2024, won by Hyuma Hara
- 2025, won by Yuma Kinugawa, eventual 2026 LAIC Champion
Previous editions of the JCS have featured different formats and qualifying systems. The 2026 edition goes back to a system of best-of-1 Swiss rounds + best-of-3 single-elimination top cut, last used in 2022. Qualification is kept through two phases of in-game ladder qualifiers, similar to the last few years.
The ruleset is Regulation Set M-A, with closed team lists up until Top 8, and open team lists from Top 8 onwards.
A little bit of history
Japan has been a part of the official TPC circuit since its inception. It has hosted multiple major events, including old-era Regionals and National Championships, and is particularly successful in the online competitions. As the most successful country in VGC, Japan’s greatest trophies have been brought home by 5 World Champions (Kazuyuki TsujiĀ in 2009,Ā Shoma HonamiĀ in 2015,Ā Ryota OtsuboĀ in 2017,Ā Naoto MizobuchiĀ in 2019, andĀ Shohei KimuraĀ in 2023), as well as the 2008 VGS Champion (Izuru Yoshimura) and other 10 in the Senior and Junior divisions throughout the years.
The most recent tournament held in Japan was theĀ 2025 Japan Championships (JCS), played in Yokohama in PokĆ©mon Scarlet and PokĆ©mon Violet with the VGC Regulation Set I in June 2025. The finals saw 2025 NAIC quarterfinalist Yuma Kinugawa defeat 2023 World Champion Shohei Kimura to win his first major title! In the following months, Yuma would go on to also win LAIC.
AmericanĀ James Evans, theĀ 2018 Senior Division World Champion, defeated BrazilianĀ Gabriel AgatiĀ in the NAIC finals.
