The Japanese Swimming Federation (JASF) has announced the qualification criteria for the 2024 World Championships, which will take place in Doha, Qatar in February. Swimmers who have achieved the ‘dispatch III’ time from the organization’s Paris Olympic Selection Criteria will be considered, with a maximum roster count of 10 specified. The following competitions will be considered for selection: 2023 Japan Championships, 2023 Japan Open, 2023 World Championships, 2023 World University Games, 2022 (2023) Asian Games, and 2023 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup.
Despite these qualification criteria being announced, only three swimmers have hit the qualification times at approved competitions so far: Katsuhiro Matsumoto achieved a qualifying time in the men’s 100m fly event at the 2023 Tokyo Swimming Center Invitational; Tomoru Honda achieved a qualifying time in the men’s 400m IM event at the same competition; and Reona Aoki earned a qualifying time in the women’s 150m freestyle event at the same meet.
However, one swimmer has earned a qualifying time at a non-qualifying meet. Ageha Tanigawa achieved a qualifying time in the women’s 4x150m medley relay event at an invitational meet held in Tokyo earlier this year.
The Japanese swimming team had a disappointing performance at the recent Fukuoka World Championships held in Japan last year. The nation finished just outside of the top eight teams overall and failed to earn any medals in individual events. However, there were some bright spots for Japanese swimmers such as Tomoru Honda earning a bronze medal in both men’s breaststroke and butterfly events and Daiya Seto collecting bronze medals in both men’s backstroke and individual medley events.