The Japanese Keirin Association has confirmed the dates of ten ‘Keirin World Series’ events in summer 2026, to which foreign athletes will be invited.
International stars will return to Japanese domestic competition for the first time since 2019.
There will be a G3-level event at Wakayama in early August, open to men only but with a single women’s race on the programme; plus nine lower-level F1-level events, involving men and women, starting on June 3 at Hofu.
Just three men and three women are expected to participate. Names will be announced as soon as they are decided.
F1 events are open to all but the least experienced riders. The G3 event is only open to higher-level S-ranked riders.
The races have been distributed widely around the country:
- Hofu, June 3-5 (F1, daytime)
- Kitakyushu, June 26-28 (F1, evening)
- Aomori, July 3-5 (F1, evening)
- Ito, July 10-12 (F1, evening)
- Kishiwada, July 20-22 (F1, daytime)
- Tachikawa, July 27-29 (F1, daytime)
- Wakayama, Aug 6-9 (G3, daytime)
- Yokkaichi, August 17-19 (F1, evening)
- Gifu, August 24-26 (F1, daytime)
- Kawasaki, Aug 30 – Sep 1 (F1, daytime)
The JKA website lists 111 men and 16 women who have raced in Japanese competition since 1990.
The last cohort, in 2019, consisted of:
- Men: Theo Bos, Joe Truman, Matthew Glaetzer, Matthijs Büchli, Shane Perkins, Stefan Bötticher, Denis Dmitriev
- Women: Laurine van Riessen, Natasha Hansen, Mathilde Gros, Madalyn Godby
The JKA has also announced dates between April and June for its Keirin Advance 2026 series, run according to international rules.