Presenting a flawless and almost perfect kata, Shimizu earned a second consecutive global crown with victory over Egypt’s Sarah Sayed in her final. 

"Today I felt very motivated even from the warm-up area," said the 22-year-old, whose victories at the last two World Championships follow compatriot Rika Usami’s triumph in Paris in 2012.

"In the first part of the kata, I think I did my best.

"In the second part, I had some parts that I think need to be improved.

"Nonetheless, I did enjoy this competition and I am happy for the gold."

Replicating Shimizu’s achievement in the men’s kata was Kiyuna, who defeated European champion Damian Quintero of Spain to win his sixth consecutive gold medal in major international competitions.

Japan’s gold medal rush started in the first final of the day as Ayumi Uekusa beat Greece’s Eleni Chatziliadou in the women’s kumite over 68 kilograms category.

The 24-year-old finally reached the top of the podium having had to settle for bronze at the 2012 and 2014 World Championships in Paris and Bremen respectively. 

Compatriot Ryutaro Araga soon doubled Japan’s gold medal haul with victory in the men’s under 84kg final over Azerbaijan’s Aykhan Mamayev.

It comes after runners-up finishes at the 2012 and 2014 World Championships and ensured him a third medal overall in karate’s flagship event.

France came the closest to matching Japan’s gold medal tally after claiming top honours in the women’s under 55kg and women’s under 50kg kumite categories, through Emilie Thouy and Alexandra Recchia respectively, and the women’s team kumite.

Thouy, 23, beat Brazil’s Valéria Kumizaki to secure women’s under 55kg gold and improve on the silver she won at the 2014 World Championships.

As for the European champion Recchia, she claimed victory over Japan’s Miho Miyahara to recapture the women’s under 50kg crown she won on home soil in Paris four years ago.

Just over half-an-hour after her triumph, Recchia joined forces with her team-mates to lead France to the women’s team kumite title.

The French squad, which also included Lucie Ignace, Alizée Agier and Leïla Heurtault, defeated Spain in the final and earned the gold for their country two years after finishing runners-up to Egypt.

Third in the medal table after the first day of finals are Iran thanks to golds for Sajad Ganjzadeh in the men’s over 84kg kumite and Amir Mehdizadeh in the men’s under 60kg kumite.

Ganjzadeh was proclaimed world champion following his split-decision victory over Morocco’s Achraf Ouchen, while Mehdizadeh defeated The Netherlands’ Geoffrey Berens.

Among the other winners today was Egypt’s Giana Lotfy, who retained her women’s under 61kg crown after beating France's Ignace in the final.

Azerbaijan’s Rafael Aghayev, meanwhile, won his fifth World Championship gold medal as he defeated Egypt’s Rahman Omar Abdel to claim the men’s under 75kg crown.

There were also triumphs for home favourite Alisa Buchinger, defeating Denmark’s Katrine Pedersen in the women’s under 68kg final, and England’s Jordan Thomas, who beat Hungary’s Martial Yves Tadissi in the men’s under 67kg gold medal match.

Canada’s Patricia Wright and Germany’s Albert Singer won the respective men’s and women’s intellectually impaired titles, while Germany's Helga Balkie and Moldova’s Nicolai Bondarev took the gold medals in the blind and visually impaired classification to bring today’s action to a close.

For a full run-down of results from today's action, see our Live Blog here.