Japan Excited by 'Janggi Genius', Distributes Extra Editions... "Otani-Level Popularity"

Youngest 7-Time Champion Achieved
Highly Regarded Comparable to Shohei Ohtani
Excitement Builds as 8-Time Champion Expected Soon

A youngest-ever 7-title champion has emerged in the professional shogi world, which is popular in Japan. Japanese media are celebrating the 'shogi genius' achievement, even issuing special editions unusually.

According to Japanese media reports such as Asahi (朝日) and Yomiuri (讀賣) newspapers on the 2nd, Sota Fujii (20), who holds various youngest-ever titles, won the 'Meijin' (名人) match, one of the eight titles in Japan, held on the night of the 1st. With this, Fujii became the youngest 7-title champion.

Sota Fujii, the youngest ever to achieve seven titles in Japanese shogi
Photo by Yonhap News

Known early on as a 'shogi genius,' Fujii entered the professional shogi world at the youngest age ever in October 2016 when he was 14 years old, drawing attention by achieving the longest winning streak of 29 consecutive wins. Starting with the 'Kisei' (棋聖) title, he began to claim Japanese professional shogi titles one by one, becoming the youngest 6-title champion in March this year.

During this process, he gained popularity comparable to Shohei Ohtani (大谷翔平), the Japanese superstar who entered the American Major League Baseball (MLB).

Reflecting Fujii's popularity, the Mainichi (每日) newspaper issued a special edition (a newspaper temporarily created and distributed to announce important news rather than a regular issue) on the 1st, delivering it to citizens returning home at Tokyo (東京) Station and other places to announce his achievement of becoming a 7-title champion.

Some expect that, since he has advanced to the second round of the challenger tournament for the 'Oza' (王座) title, which he has not yet claimed among the eight titles, the first-ever 8-title champion in Japanese shogi history could be born this fall if his current momentum continues.

Meanwhile, Japanese-style shogi is broadly similar to Korean janggi but differs in aspects such as the ability to reuse captured opponent's pieces as one's own.