Among the revised regulations are the scrapping of the yuko evaluation of technique points, leaving only ippon and waza-ari.

The value of waza-ari will include that given for yuko in the past, while the waza-ari will not add up and two waza-ari will no longer be the equivalent of ippon.

For immobilisations, waza-ari will be shortened to 10 seconds from 15 and ippon will remain as 20.

Furthermore, there will now be three shido penalties, instead of the previous four.

Leg grabbing or grabbing the trousers will first be penalised by shido and secondly by a hansoku-make disqualification.

The IJF said its goal is "to promote the rules of judo and make them easier to understand, as well as to simplify them".

"The purpose of these rules is to give priority to the attack and to the realisation of ippon," a statement from the world governing body added.

An international level test period is due to start at next month’s African Open in Tunisia’s capital Tunis, where action is set to take place on January 14 and 15.

During this time, the new regulations can be corrected if necessary.

The test period is scheduled to end following the conclusion of the 2017 World Championships in Hungary’s capital Budapest on September 3.

A meeting will then be held aimed at validating the set of rules that will be used for the next Olympic qualification period.

Another notable change will see the duration of men’s contests shortened from five minutes to four to ensure parity with those of women. 

The move is aimed at adhering to wish of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to have fight-time unity for the mixed team event due to be proposed by the IJF for inclusion at Tokyo 2020.

The event will include the men’s under 73 kilograms, under 90kg and over 90kg categories, and the women’s under 57kg, under 70kg and over 70kg divisions.

It is hoped this will add dynamism to the judo programme and boost gender equality, marking a change from previous plans to propose separate male and female team medal events - the format which takes place at World Championship level.

The recent Tokyo Grand Slam marked the end of the Rio 2016 cycle, which saw the crowning of 14 new Olympic champions in August.

The new cycle officially opens with the Paris Grand Slam in February and the IJF says it has carefully analysed the last four years, both from an organisational perspective and from a technical point of view.

This analysis, conducted under the supervision of the IJF Executive Committee and an expanded group of experts and media representatives around the judo movement, is said to have revealed a number of possible changes and improvements to the rules.  

"The new rules were elaborated based on the proposals from National Federations (NFs) and the 20 directors of the IJF Coordination Committee, which were later analysed by the group of experts of the IJF and the Executive Committee technical departments," the IJF statement reads.

"The choices that have been made are the result of a widely shared and democratic consensus.

"They take into account the fundamental values of judo, its moral code, while ensuring that our sport, which is a 'living body', can adapt to the modern world and reach an increasingly large audience."

The rules adopted will be presented at the refereeing and coaching seminar to be held in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku from January 5 to 8.

Each point of the new regulations will then be explained and detailed to referees, coaches and representatives of NFs and continental unions.