In the Japan Men's Curling World Championship, they lost to Germany 5-8 in the final game of the qualifying round, finishing with a 5-7 record and failing to make the playoffs.
The men's curling world championship in Ottawa, Canada, features 13 participating teams in a round-robin format, with the top six advancing to the semifinals and playoffs.
World No. 6 Japan lost to world No. 10 Italy 7-11 in the 6th qualifying round on the 5th, before facing world No. 12 Germany in the final match.
Japan scored two goals in the third end of the 12-on-1 game when Stone was pushed out by Germany's last shot, and then extended their lead to end the first half 1-3.
In the sixth end, Japan was the second 2-year-old Jun Yamamoto scored a triple takeout that knocked out three of his opponent's stones, and then scored two points on the last shot of skip Lee Yanagisawa to close the gap to one point at 2-5.
However, in the seventh end, Germany's last shot pushed Stone out and scored three points in one fell swoop, and Japan conceded the loss in the ninth end when they gave back one goal, losing to Germany 6-16.
Japan lost four consecutive games and finished in seventh place with a 3-2 record in the qualifying round, failing to make the playoffs.
Comments from Japan National Team Players
Lead player Satoshi Koizumi said, "It's frustrating that I couldn't play as well as I wanted because I struggled with ice and slippage.
The youngest of the participating players, 16-year-old Yamamoto Jun, a second-year high school sophomore, said, "It was a good tournament where all the joy and sorrow for one week became an irreplaceable treasure.
Takeshi Yamaguchi said, "The world stage is a very fun place and it was a very tough tournament. From next year onwards, we will improve our strength to beat the top teams ahead of the Olympics."
Skip YANAGISAWA Lee said, "It was my first World Championship, but I can sum it up in a few words, it was fun.