Yuma Kagiyama, Ami Nakai, and Shohei Ohtani rank as 'Pure' athletes; Riku Miura (Riku-Ryu pair), Kaori Sakamoto, and Ami Nakai lead in 'Glamorous' rankings, with figure skaters dominating the top spots.

Hakuhodo Inc., in collaboration with Hakuhodo DY Sports Marketing Inc. and Data Stadium Inc., conducted the 'Athlete Image Evaluation Survey' in March 2026, between February 27 and March 2, to measure the comprehensive public image of athletes. ■ About the Survey ■ The Overall Athlete Image Ranking is as follows: 1st: Shohei Ohtani (MLB), 2nd: Riku Miura (Riku-Ryu pair, Figure Skating), 3rd: Ryuichi Kihara (Riku-Ryu pair, Figure Skating), 4th: Kaori Sakamoto (Figure Skating), and 5th: Ami Nakai (Figure Skating). Regarding individual image attributes, the 'Pure' athlete ranking is: 1st: Yuma Kagiyama (Figure Skating), 2nd: Ami Nakai (Figure Skating), 3rd: Shohei Ohtani (MLB), 4th: Rikako Ikee (Swimming), and 5th: Haruka Kitaguchi (Athletics). The 'Glamorous' athlete ranking is: 1st: Riku Miura (Riku-Ryu pair, Figure Skating), 2nd: Kaori Sakamoto (Figure Skating), 3rd: Ami Nakai (Figure Skating), 4th: Ryuichi Kihara (Riku-Ryu pair, Figure Skating), and 5th: Shohei Ohtani (MLB), with figure skaters who competed in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics dominating the top positions. In other categories, Ran Takahashi (Volleyball) ranked 1st for 'Cool,' Ami Nakai (Figure Skating) for 'Cute,' Kaori Sakamoto (Figure Skating) for 'Cheerful,' Hajime Moriyasu (Soccer) for 'Leadership,' Takefusa Kubo (Overseas Soccer) for 'Technical,' and Shohei Ohtani (MLB) for 'Provides dreams and inspiration.' The 'Athlete Image Evaluation Survey' is an original study designed primarily to provide foundational data for commercial casting, measuring athlete awareness, favorability, and 29 specific image attributes. We plan to continue conducting and analyzing this survey regularly. 【Overall Athlete Image Ranking】 1st: Shohei Ohtani (MLB) 2nd: Riku Miura (Riku-Ryu pair, Figure Skating) 3rd: Ryuichi Kihara (Riku-Ryu pair, Figure Skating) 4th: Kaori Sakamoto (Figure Skating) 5th: Ami Nakai (Figure Skating) 6th: Tokito Oda (Tennis) 7th: Naoya Inoue (Boxing) 8th: Rikako Ikee (Swimming) 9th: Haruka Kitaguchi (Athletics) 10th: Yu Darvish (MLB) 【Individual Athlete Image Rankings】 We have ranked the top 5 athletes for each individual image attribute. We have also created rankings for the top 5 sports. By comparing 'athletes' and 'sports' through these individual image attributes, those that appear in the top rankings for both have been underlined.