Japanese keirin is preparing to re-open its doors to international riders, for the first time since the Covid pandemic.

MoreCadence is reporting a decision by the JKA that the ‘short-term registration system’, suspended in 2020, will be revived. (There’s nothing on the JKA website yet, though.)

They propose to hold a Keirin World Series, consisting of 10 rounds from June to August 2026, with three men and three women invited to participate.

The men will compete at G3 or F1 level, the women at F1 level. These are middle-ranking events in the Japanese calendar: so it means we (still) won’t see global superstars competing at the highest level, for the biggest prize pots.

But this often means that invited riders tend to do very well. Matthijs Büchli, Stefan Bötticher, Matthew Glaetzer and Mathilde Gros featured in the 2019 guest cohort: and each has won 75% (or more) of the races they participated in.

A ‘World Cyclist Support Keirin’ event will be held at Wakayama, in the southern-central region of Japan’s main island Honshu, from 6-9 August 2026. For female athletes, a single race will be held within this event.

The JKA has also announced the continuation of its Keirin Advance and Keirin Rookie Series trials, which sees Japanese male riders competing under UCI-style rules, without collaborative lines. (Women’s racing already uses UCI-style rules.)

A delegation from the JKA visited UCI headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland at the start of July. UCI President David Lappartient tweeted that they had ‘had productive discussions focused on the ongoing development of Track Cycling.’

Lappartient said he looked ‘forward to strengthening our collaboration and shaping a shared vision for the future of Cycling in the region.’ We hope the conversation extended wider than just the region, though.