[3] Although Kanaya was a competitive racer, he was never allowed to compete in a full season in the world championships as, his main responsibility was as a test rider in Japan.

[3] Born in Kobe, Japan, Kanaya first rose to prominence as a Kawasaki rider when, he finished in third place behind Bill Ivy and Stuart Graham at the 1967 125cc Japanese Grand Prix.

[2] For the 1973 season, Yamaha promoted Kanaya alongside 1972 250cc world champion Jarno Saarinen to compete on the newly developed four-cylinder, two-stroke YZR500 0W20 in the premier 500cc class.

Kanaya began the season with three consecutive second place results behind his teammate Saarinen in the 250cc class and, second and third place finishes in the 500cc class however, after Saarinen was tragically killed while competing in the fourth round of the championship at the Monza Circuit, Yamaha made the decision to withdraw its team for the remainder of the 1973 season and, Kanaya was sent back to Japan to resume his duties as a test rider.

[3] Despite only scoring points in four races, he still finished the 1975 season ranked third in the 500cc world championship final standings behind Giacomo Agostini and MV Agusta's Phil Read[2] He also won the Macau Grand Prix in 1975.