is a Japanese

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 for ...

His first international successes were at the 1996 Junior World Championships in

Schwyz The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the '' ...

, with a 5th rank in

Slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

, and a 9th rank in

Giant Slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...

. Since the

1997 Alpine Skiing World Cup File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'', the List of highest-grossing films, highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; ...

he has been participating regularly in

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 concept i ...

races, nine times ranking in the top ten. Shortly before the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

he ranked 4th in

Wengen, Switzerland Wengen () is a mountain village in the Bernese Oberland of central Switzerland. Located in the canton of Bern at an elevation of above sea level, it is part of the Jungfrauregion and has approximately 1,300 year-round residents, which swells to ...

. At the

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

he also ranked 4th, the best result of a Japanese skier since

Chiharu Igaya is a former Olympic games, Olympic Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer and Alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's slalom, silver medalist from Japan. He competed in three Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics (Japan at ...

's silver medal at the

1956 Winter Olympics The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games ( it, VII Giochi Olimpici invernali) and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( lld, Anpezo 1956 or ), was a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from ...

. In June 2009, he married Japanese popular freestyle skier,

Aiko Uemura is a Japanese freestyle skier. She participates in moguls and dual moguls. Her family moved to Hakuba town, Nagano Prefecture, Japan in 1986. She graduated from Hakuba High School in 1998, and works for the Kitano Construction Corporation in ...

.Olympians Aiko Uemura and Kentaro Minagawa Ties the Knot
accessed 2010-06-09

Notes and references

1977 births Living people Japanese male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of Japan Alpine skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Niigata Prefecture Nippon Sport Science University alumni 21st-century Japanese people {{Japan-alpine-skiing-bio-stub