(SP)CHINA-JIANGSU-SUZHOU-SPORT CLIMBING-IFSC WORLD CUP-LEAD (CN)

(SP)CHINA-JIANGSU-SUZHOU-SPORT CLIMBING-IFSC WORLD CUP-LEAD (CN)

(240414) -- SUZHOU, April 14, 2024 (Xinhua) -- Tanii Natsuki of Japan competes during the women's lead event at the IFSC World Cup Wujiang 2024 in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 14, 2024. (Photo by Wang Xuzhong/Xinhua)

(SP)CHINA-JIANGSU-SUZHOU-SPORT CLIMBING-IFSC WORLD CUP-LEAD (CN)

(SP)CHINA-JIANGSU-SUZHOU-SPORT CLIMBING-IFSC WORLD CUP-LEAD (CN)

(240414) -- SUZHOU, April 14, 2024 (Xinhua) -- Tanii Natsuki of Japan competes during the women's lead event at the IFSC World Cup Wujiang 2024 in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 14, 2024. (Photo by Wang Xuzhong/Xinhua)

(SP)CHINA-JIANGSU-SUZHOU-SPORT CLIMBING-IFSC WORLD CUP-LEAD (CN)

(SP)CHINA-JIANGSU-SUZHOU-SPORT CLIMBING-IFSC WORLD CUP-LEAD (CN)

(240414) -- SUZHOU, April 14, 2024 (Xinhua) -- Tanii Natsuki of Japan competes during the women's lead event at the IFSC World Cup Wujiang 2024 in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 14, 2024. (Photo by Wang Xuzhong/Xinhua)

(SP)CHINA-JIANGSU-SUZHOU-SPORT CLIMBING-IFSC WORLD CUP-LEAD (CN)

(SP)CHINA-JIANGSU-SUZHOU-SPORT CLIMBING-IFSC WORLD CUP-LEAD (CN)

(240414) -- SUZHOU, April 14, 2024 (Xinhua) -- Tanii Natsuki of Japan competes during the women's lead event at the IFSC World Cup Wujiang 2024 in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 14, 2024. (Photo by Wang Xuzhong/Xinhua)

Japan's 1st athletics gold at Asian Games

Japan's 1st athletics gold at Asian Games

INCHEON, South Korea - Takayuki Tanii of Japan crosses the finish line in the men's 50-kilometer walk with a meet record time of 3 hours, 40 minutes, 19 seconds to win the country's first athletics gold medal of the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, on Oct. 1, 2014.

Japan's 1st athletics gold at Asian Games

Japan's 1st athletics gold at Asian Games

INCHEON, South Korea - Takayuki Tanii of Japan crosses the finish line in the men's 50-kilometer walk with a meet record time of 3 hours, 40 minutes, 19 seconds to win the country's first athletics gold medal of the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, on Oct. 1, 2014.

Morioka 6th in 50-km race walk at worlds

Morioka 6th in 50-km race walk at worlds

DAEGU, South Korea - Koichiro Morioka (C), Takayuki Tanii (R), and Hirooki Arai, all from Japan, pose with a flag in Daegu, South Korea, on Sept. 3, 2011, after the 50-kilometer race walk at the world athletics championships. Morioka, Tanii and Arai finished 6th, 9th and 10th in the race, respectively.

(SP)INDONESIA-JAKARTA-IFSC CLIMBING-WORLD CUP 2022-WOMEN'S LEAD-FINAL

(SP)INDONESIA-JAKARTA-IFSC CLIMBING-WORLD CUP 2022-WOMEN'S LEAD-FINAL

(220927) -- JAKARTA, Sept. 27, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Tanii Natsuki of Japan competes during the women's lead final of IFSC Climbing World Cup 2022 in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Zulkarnain)

Athletics: Tanii wins 50-km walk national title

Athletics: Tanii wins 50-km walk national title

Takayuki Tanii wins the 50-kilometer walk at the national championships, the final qualifier for this summer's Rio de Janeiro Olympics, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture on April 17, 2016. Tanii, a world bronze medalist who has already qualified for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, clocked 3 hours, 44 minutes, 12 seconds. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Athletics: Tanii wins 50-km walk national title

Athletics: Tanii wins 50-km walk national title

Takayuki Tanii (L) and Hirooki Arai hug each other after finishing first and second respectively in the 50-kilometer walk at the national championships in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture on April 17, 2016. Tanii, a world bronze medalist who has already qualified for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, clocked 3 hours, 44 minutes, 12 seconds. Arai virtually assured himself of a first trip to the Olympics with a time of 3:44:47. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Tanii wins bronze in men's 50-kilometer walk

Tanii wins bronze in men's 50-kilometer walk

Japan's Takayuki Tanii poses for a photo with his bronze medal during the awards ceremony for the men's 50-kilometer race walk on the eighth day of the 15th world athletics championships in Beijing on Aug. 29, 2015. Tanii, champion of the 2014 Asian Games champion, finished in 3 hours, 42 minutes, 55 seconds to book his spot in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Tanii wins bronze in men's 50-kilometer walk

Tanii wins bronze in men's 50-kilometer walk

Japan's Takayuki Tanii pumps his fist while crossing the finish line as he captured the men's 50-kilometer race walk bronze medal on the eighth day of the 15th world athletics championships in Beijing on Aug. 29, 2015. Tanii, champion of the 2014 Asian Games, finished in 3 hours, 42 minutes, 55 seconds to book his spot in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Morioka 6th in 50-km race walk at worlds

Morioka 6th in 50-km race walk at worlds

DAEGU, South Korea - Koichiro Morioka (C), Takayuki Tanii (R), and Hirooki Arai, all from Japan, pose with a flag in Daegu, South Korea, on Sept. 3, 2011, after the 50-kilometer race walk at the world athletics championships. Morioka, Tanii and Arai finished 6th, 9th and 10th in the race, respectively. (Kyodo)

Japan's 1st athletics gold at Asian Games

Japan's 1st athletics gold at Asian Games

INCHEON, South Korea - Takayuki Tanii of Japan crosses the finish line in the men's 50-kilometer walk with a meet record time of 3 hours, 40 minutes, 19 seconds to win the country's first athletics gold medal of the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, on Oct. 1, 2014. (Kyodo)

Japan's 1st athletics gold at Asian Games

Japan's 1st athletics gold at Asian Games

INCHEON, South Korea - Takayuki Tanii of Japan crosses the finish line in the men's 50-kilometer walk with a meet record time of 3 hours, 40 minutes, 19 seconds to win the country's first athletics gold medal of the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, on Oct. 1, 2014. (Kyodo)

Trash-picking event held to promote eco-friendly 2020 Olympics

Trash-picking event held to promote eco-friendly 2020 Olympics

Race walkers Hirooki Arai (front L) and Takayuki Tanii (front R) take part in a trash-picking event on Tokyo streets around the main competition area for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, on June 5, 2017. The event was aimed at increasing environmental awareness in the buildup to the games. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Sacred Japanese island recommended for UNESCO heritage list

Sacred Japanese island recommended for UNESCO heritage list

Hiromi Tanii (R), the mayor of Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, displays a poster announcing a decision by a UNESCO preliminary review panel recommending the local island of Okinoshima and reefs nearby be registered on the world's cultural heritage list, at the city hall on May 6, 2017. The island is home to Okitsu-Miya Shrine, which was used for prayer rituals during Japan's exchanges with the Asian continent in the fourth to ninth centuries. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo