Hanyu, who won the men’s singles competition at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, will bid for glory at the NHK Trophy at the Makomanai Sekisuiheim Ice Arena in an event due to start tomorrow and conclude on Sunday (November 27). 

All 56 athletes who are set to take to the ice in Japan are hoping to secure vital qualification points for next month’s Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Marseille in France, scheduled for December 8 to 11.

Singles events for men and women, as well as pairs and ice dance competitions, will take place at the NHK Trophy, with a $180,000 (£144,000/€170,000) prize on offer for those who emerge victorious.

Hanyu, one of the most famous Japanese skaters, will go up against the likes of American Jason Brown, a silver medallist at the Progressive Skate America, the opening Grand Prix of Figure Skating event, in Chicago last month. 

Other athletes to look out for in the men’s singles include Alexei Bychenko of Israel, American Nathan Chen and Mikhail Kolyada of Russia.

The women’s event is also likely to provide thrilling drama, with Satoko Miyahara, this year’s Four Continents champion, one of the leading skaters due to take to the ice.

The Japanese is among a strong field for the NHK Trophy, with World Championships bronze medallist Anna Pogorilaya of Russia, home favourite Wakaba Higuchi and Mirai Nagasu of the United States also likely to be in contention.

Canadian duo Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, the two-time world champions, will go in pursuit of a second Grand Prix of Figure Skating gold medal in the pairs event.

Duhamel and Radford delighted the home crowd by clinching victory at the Skate Canada competition in Toronto at the end of last month and they are once again the leading competitors in their discipline.

China’s Cheng Peng and Yang Jin will aim to complete their first season as a pair in style by qualifying for the Final in Marseille, while team-mates Xuehan Wang and Lei Wang and Mari Vartmann and Ruben Blommaert of Germany will also bid to end the regular campaign on a high.

Current world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France and Vancouver 2010 Olympic Champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada will have their first duel in the ice dance event as they both go in pursuit of supremacy in Sapporo.