Naoki Koyama punched his ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics with victory in the Marathon Grand Championship on Sunday in Tokyo.
He will be joined at the Summer Games by Akira Akasaki, who held off two-time Olympian Suguru Osako to claim second place and Japan's other automatic qualifying slot for the men's marathon in Paris.
In the women's race, Yuka Suzuki secured her Olympic spot along with second-place Mao Ichiyama.
Koyama, winner of this year's Gold Coast Marathon in Australia, mastered the rain-soaked conditions on a demanding street course around central Tokyo to earn his first Olympic berth in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 57 seconds.
Akasaki crossed in 2:09:06, five seconds ahead of Osako, who was unable to close the gap with a final burst toward the finish line at the capital's National Stadium.
Yuki Kawauchi, the 2018 Boston Marathon winner, was the early front-runner, jumping out to a big lead before being reined in by the chasing pack around the 35-kilometer mark. He finished fourth in 2:09:18.
National record holder Kengo Suzuki withdrew in the early stages due to an apparent injury.
A delighted Koyama said he had stuck to his race plan and would aim for a top-eight finish next summer in the French capital.
"I wanted to concentrate on my own race and not react to anyone else unnecessarily," said the 27-year-old, who picked up his pace around the 38-km mark. "My team was telling me to go as fast as I could (at that stage)."
Akasaki, 25, said he had fulfilled his biggest career goal by earning selection to the Japanese Olympic team.
"I'm ecstatic. I never thought I'd make it onto the team for the Olympics this quickly," he said.
The 32-year-old Osako, who finished sixth at the Tokyo Games marathon, staged in Sapporo in 2021, could still make his third trip to the Olympics depending on the outcome of remaining qualifying races through next spring.
"Although it's a shorter interval (between Olympics) than last time, I'm glad to be on the starting line, and I want to aim for the Paris Olympics and earn the right to compete again," said Osako, who ran the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Suzuki crossed the line in 2:24:09 to finish 34 seconds ahead of Ichiyama, who will compete at her second Olympics after representing Japan at the Tokyo Games. One other Japanese runner will also qualify for the Olympic women's marathon.
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