Equipment Breakdown of the All-Japan Men's Singles Top 16 (2026)
The numbers are the players’ finishing positions at the All-Japan Championships. When it comes to gear, Japanese players tend to lean heavily toward Japanese brands.
1. Sora Matsushima: Fan Zhendong ALC, Dignics 09c, Dignics 03
Matsushima won the All-Japan men’s title last year too. Back then his backhand was Dignics 05. That switch sums up the past year’s main trend: many Butterfly-sponsored players moved their backhand from D05 to D03. It is a personal preference — Lin Yun-Ju and Miwa Harimoto still stick with D05, so D03 is not simply superior.
In my view D03’s strength is that it eats the opponent’s spin less, so you can just rip more freely, which can push your pace up further. Tomokazu Harimoto said in an interview that after switching to D03 he found it easier to speed the ball up than with rubbers he used before. With D05 his backhand would lift backspin into a slow, high loop (subconsciously, fearing the net), but with D03 he can flick it faster and flatter.
2. Hiroto Shinozuka: Boll ALC custom, Dignics 09c, Dignics 03
Last year’s runner-up; both sides were D09c last year. I default to assuming Butterfly-sponsored players use custom builds. If the blade carries a stamp I write “Fan A” or “Boll A”; if not, I write “custom.” In truth most stamped blades are custom too, with matching player codes.
3. Tomokazu Harimoto: Harimoto SALC, Dignics 03 both sides
Last year’s third place, both sides D05 then. He says he trained a month or two specifically last autumn to fully understand and adapt to D03.
4. Yuma Tanigaki: Harimoto ZLC, Tenergy 05 Hard both sides
Forehand unchanged; a year ago the backhand was Tenergy 80. Now it is all aggression. Not a Butterfly star, so no shoe restriction — he wears the Asics Attack Excounter 2, a series I really like: very quick to start, strong grip and easy on the feet. This inner Harimoto ZLC has a 158 by 152 head, larger than the Innerforce Layer ZLC, so it plays a touch heavier. It is firmer than the Inn ZLC, so it pairs better with rubbers like D09c; close-table first-ball speed is quick, though spin with grippy rubbers seems a notch below the Inn ZLC.
5. Yuto Kizukuri: W968, NEO Blue National Hurricane, backhand rubber unconfirmed
The backhand should be a Butterfly rubber, but a confidentiality agreement keeps the model off Table Tennis Kingdom.
6. Yukiya Uda: Inn ZLC custom, Dignics 09c, Dignics 03
A year ago both sides were D05.
7. Ryusei Kawakami: outer SALC custom, Dignics 03 both sides
8. Maharu Yoshimura: outer SALC custom, Dignics 03 both sides
As discussed before, if you want to move from an inner blade to an outer one, SALC is a good direction — these blades hold the ball more and arc strongly while still amplifying power, much like an inner blade. At last year’s All-Japan, Yoshimura used D05 both sides.
9. Yuya Oshima: Andro core VCI, Nuzn 55, Rasanter C53
An inner green-fiber blade. The fiber here is also Japan-sourced.
10. Shunsuke Togami: Fan Zhendong ALC, Dignics 03 both sides
11. Kazuki Hamada: Zhang Jike ZLC, Dignics 03 both sides
Last year’s setup was Franziska ZLC, Tenergy 05 Hard, Dignics 05.
12. Kohei Sambe: Harimoto ZLC, Dignics 09c, Dignics 03
The Harimoto ZLC has a fairly high usage rate among Japanese players.
13. Hiromu Kobayashi: Harimoto SZLC, Dignics 03 both sides
His old setup was Fan A, forehand D05 and backhand D09c. D03’s high dwell made replacing D09c possible.
14. Hiromitsu Kasahara: Fan Zhendong ZLC, Dignics 09c both sides
Wang Amy winning the Pan-American Cup drew some attention to her Fan Zhendong ZLC.
15. Kazuhiro Yoshimura: Quartet AFC, V22 both sides
Even as a grippy tensor, V22 offers high margin, remarkable dwell and strong defensive ability.
16. Taisei Matsushita: ALC custom, Dignics 09c, Dignics 03
A rare penholder.