Their strong showing was aided by diving superpower China being absent from the three events at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

Nana Sasaki set the tone for Japan after producing a strong sequence of dives in the women’s 10 metre platform qualifying, which saw her finish with a points tally of 288.70.

Australia’s Tamara Irvine pushed Sasaki close by ending on 287.90, while Matsuri Ari of Japan was the third best qualifier by finishing on 266.15.

A victory looks likely for Japan in the men’s 10m platform competition, with Taichi Okajima and Reo Nishida finishing well clear of their only rival in the preliminary phase of the event.

Okajima scored a total of 382.95 points overall to top the standings, with Nishida ending on 370.20.

Ukraine’s Yevhen Naumenko was some way down on 278.30 and will need to have a marked improvement to challenge in the final.

Minami Itahashi was a class above the rest of the field in the women’s three metre springboard as she finished with 295.95 points, with her team-mate Hazuki Miyamoto trailing on 246.00.

Home favourite Ashlee Tan was the third highest scorer, as the Singapore diver scored 216.40.

Chinese divers appeared in the men’s 3m springboard competition and proved dominant, with Linhai Chen finishing top of the standings on 427.80.

His compatriot Linwei Li was in hot pursuit on 411.05, while Japan’s Yuto Araki completed the top three on 373.50.

The men’s springboard and women’s platform finals will take place tomorrow, with mixed events also set to be held. 

The remaining four finals, including the synchronised men’s springboard and women’s platform, will be held on Sunday (November 6) to bring the Grand Prix season to a close.