Kaori Sakamoto stood atop the field after the women's short program Thursday at the Japan national figure skating championships.

At the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Sakamoto skated a clean routine featuring a triple flip-triple toe loop combination for a total score of 73.59 points at the meet, which doubles as a qualifier for next year's Pyeongchang Olympics.

Three-time defending champion Satoko Miyahara is in second place, 0.36 points behind Sakamoto, and Rika Hongo (70.48) is third.

The 17-year-old Sakamoto said, "I was surprised to see that I scored in the 70s for the first time (in the short program).

"I want to perform a flawless routine in my free program and finish on the podium," said Sakamoto, who won silver in her Grand Prix debut at November's Skate America.

The winners of the singles competitions at the Dec. 21-24 nationals will be given berths for the Pyeongchang Games. Japan has two spots for women's singles in South Korea, while the men have three.

Earlier in the day, Miu Suzaki and Ryuichi Kihara finished first in the pair's short program with 54.53 points. Riku Miura and Shoya Ichihashi were in second place, while Narumi Takahashi and Ryo Shibata were third.