He was the first Japanese athlete to win a World Championship medal in the javelin, taking bronze at the 2009 edition with a throw of 82.97 metres.

The 2005 World Championships in Athletics was his next major tournament but he finished in 27th place with a disappointing throw of 68.31 m. He was runner-up for a second time at the 2006 Asian Games and took part in the 2008 Summer Olympics two years later.

His performance at the 2009 World Championships included a personal best of 83.10 m to qualify for the final, and 82.97 m to win the bronze medal – his second best ever throw.

[2] He finished the year with a gold medal performance at the 2009 Asian Athletics Championships.

[3] He extended his consecutive national title run to eleven in June, out-throwing Nobuhiro Sato by four metres.