At the Kodokan Cup in Chiba the women fought for the medals. The Kodokan is considered an important tournament to get access to international competitions such as the Grand Slam in Tokyo, the last Grand Slam this year. The most eyecatching name on the podium was Miku Tashiro, in fact with Clarisse Agbegnenou and Tina Trstenjak the leading women in international judo in the U63kg category. Since they left the international scene it left a huge gap where Megumi Horikawa filled in the world title.