Kagiyama and Sakamoto lead Japanese sweep of men’s and women's short programs at NHK Trophy

TOKYO (AP) — Defending champion Yuma Kagiyama performed a near-flawless routine on Friday to lead a Japanese sweep of the men’s figure skating short program at the NHK Trophy.

Skating to “The Sound of Silence,” Kagiyama nailed an effortless quadruple salchow on his opening jump and followed with a quad toeloop-triple toeloop combination.

The 2022 Olympic silver medalist added a triple axel to finish with a season-best 105.70 points.

“I was trying to equal the score I had at the Olympics but was three points short,” the three-time world silver medalist said. “Today’s performance, from beginning to end, went just as planned.”

Kagiyama’s compatriot Kao Miura was second with a personal-best 102.96 points while Tatsuya Tsuboi completed a sweep of the top three places for the host nation with 85.02.

“All three skaters did what they needed to do today,” Kagiyama said. “Tatsuya had great flow and we were given great motivation. Kao was creating real momentum and I needed to do well.”

Andrew Torgashev of the United States was fourth with 84.36.

In the women’s short program, three-time and reigning world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan finished first with a season-best 78.93 points.

Sakamoto, who won gold at Skate Canada two weeks ago, opened with a double axel and also cleanly landed a triple lutz and triple flip-triple toeloop combination.

“I was very pleased with the lutz and it was highly evaluated,” Sakamoto said. “I was able to concentrate well throughout the entire routine.”

Like the men’s short program, the women’s top three was also swept by the host nation.

Mone Chiba was second with 71.69, followed by Yuna Aoki with 69.78.

Alysa Liu of the United States, who is making a comeback, was fourth with 65.03.

Liu started off with a triple flip-triple toeloop combination and landed a double axel and a triple lutz later in her routine.

Two-time world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States were first after the ice dance short program.

The U.S. champions, who were second at Skate America, collected level fours and threes for their elements for a season’s best score of 86.32 points.

“We made some really good strides since Skate America, specifically with this program,” Bates said. “We put a lot of effort into improving it and changed some of the music, some of the choreography, which can be challenging in the midst of the Grand Prix.”

Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, also of the United States, were second with 79.64, followed by Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius of Lithuania with 77.91.

In pairs, skating to “Paint it Black,” world silver medalists Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan were first after the short program with 71.90 points.

Miura and Kihara completed a triple twist, throw triple lutz but Miura landed forward on a triple toe which was downgraded.

“There was a mistake we were able to recover from ... that was very good for us,” Miura said. “Our choreographer has changed and we thought we needed to create something new.”

Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia were second with 70.28, followed by Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea of the U.S. with 69.15.

The NHK Trophy is the fourth event in the ISU’s Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series.

A total of 60 skaters and couples are representing 16 countries in men’s women’s, pairs and ice dance competitions.

The next round of the GP Series is Nov. 15-17 at the Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Finland.

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Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea of the U.S. compete in the pairs short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia compete in the pairs short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan compete in the pairs short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius of Lithuania compete in the ice dance rhythm dance program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko of the U.S. compete in the ice dance rhythm dance program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. compete in the ice dance rhythm dance program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Yuna Aoki of Japan competes in the women's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Mone Chiba of Japan competes in the women's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Mone Chiba of Japan competes in the women's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Kaori Sakamoto of Japan competes in the women's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Kaori Sakamoto of Japan competes in the women's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Andrew Torgashev of the U.S. competes in the men's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Andrew Torgashev of the U.S. competes in the men's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Tatsuya Tsuboi of Japan competes in the men's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Kao Miura of Japan competes in the men's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Yuma Kagiyama of Japan reacts after competing in the men's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. compete in the ice dance rhythm dance program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Kaori Sakamoto of Japan competes in the women's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Yuma Kagiyama of Japan competes in the men's short program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed Friday to work together to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease global economic uncertainties caused by the war in the Middle East.

Their summit in Seoul came as U.S. President Donald Trump slammed allies for not supporting the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. Macron was making his first visit to South Korea since taking office in 2017, as part of an Asian tour that already has taken him to Japan.

Macron told Lee at the start of the meeting that the two countries can play a role in helping to stabilize the situation in the Middle East, including Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has unleashed shock on global energy markets.

At a joint televised briefing afterward, Macron underscored the need for France and South Korea to cooperate to help reopen the strait and deescalate Middle East animosities, while Lee said the two affirmed “their resolves to cooperate to secure the safe shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The two leaders did not take questions and did not elaborate on how they would help reopen the strait — the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil usually passes.

“We need to clearly define, at the international level, the conditions for a process to ease the crisis and conflict in the Middle East,” Macron said. “We need to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.”

Lee said he and Macron agreed to expand cooperation in technology, energy and other areas. South Korean and French officials also signed agreements to cooperate on nuclear fuel supply chains, jointly invest in an offshore wind project in southern South Korea and to collaborate on critical minerals. South Korea has moved to increase output at its nuclear reactors to mitigate the energy crunch and Lee has also called for a faster transition to renewable energy, saying the war has exposed the country’s heavy reliance on fossil fuel imports.

Macron’s Asia trip comes as Trump has ramped up his frustration with allies. In a speech Wednesday, Trump said Americans “don’t need” the strait but the countries who do “must grab it and cherish it.”

In an earlier Easter event at the White House, Trump called for his allies in Asia and China to get involved in reopening the waterway.

“Let South Korea, you know, we only have 45,000 soldiers in harm’s way over there, right next to a nuclear force — let South Korea do it,” Trump said. “Let Japan do it. They get 90% of their oil from the strait. Let China do it.”

The United States stations about 28,000 troops in South Korea, not the 45,000 stated by Trump. The U.S. troops’ deployment in South Korea is meant to deter potential aggressions from North Korea.

Macron has said reopening the Strait of Hormuz through a military operation is unrealistic.

South Korean officials have said they are in contact with Washington on the issue and that Seoul isn’t considering paying Iran transit fees to secure fuel shipments through the strait.

French President Emmanuel Macron, front left, his wife Brigitte Macron, back center, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, front right, and his wife Kim Hea Kyung, right, attend the welcome ceremony at the presidential Blue House in Seoul Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je /Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, center, his wife Brigitte Macron, left, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, and his wife Kim Hea Kyung, second left, attend the welcome ceremony at the presidential Blue House in Seoul Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je /Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, second right, during their meeting at the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during their meeting at the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 3, 2026. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)