He is the son of the former Japanese gymnast, Mitsuo Tsukahara, who was also a multiple gold medalist in the Olympic Games during the 1960s and 70s.

In the 1999 World Championships, he had pushed himself to a higher level of success, winning silver medals in all-around and on parallel bars.

In addition, there were some fabulous gymnasts rose in Japan, including Hiroyuki Tomita, Isao Yoneda and Takehiro Kashima.

Naoya placed 4th on floor exercise in prelim with a 9.725, the same score of his teammates, Isao Yoneda and Daisuke Nakano.

He won a bronze medal with the team in the 2006 World Championships but could not make the 2008 Summer Olympics.

[5] In 2012, he gained Australian citizenship, allowing him to compete representing Australia in international competitions.

In 2013, he competed at the 2013 World Championships, narrowly missing the all-around finals, but premiering two new variations of the V-cross on still rings.