is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

freestyle skier. She participates in moguls and dual moguls. Her family moved to Hakuba town,

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

, Japan in 1986. She graduated from Hakuba High School in 1998, and works for the Kitano Construction Corporation in Nagano city, Japan. She is the first Japanese woman to win the 2007–08

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

in moguls, and also won two gold medals at FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships 2009. She took part in the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. In June 2009, she married

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

Kentaro Minagawa. At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, she was beaten for bronze by Hannah Kearney, the previous Olympic champion.

External links

* 1979 births Living people Olympic freestyle skiers for Japan Freestyle skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Freestyle skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Freestyle skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Freestyle skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Freestyle skiers at the 2014 Winter Olympics People from Itami, Hyōgo Japanese female freestyle skiers Asian Games medalists in freestyle skiing Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Freestyle skiers at the 2003 Asian Winter Games Medalists at the 2003 Asian Winter Games Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon {{Japan-freestyle-skiing-bio-stub