The teams that represented Japan in the 16th Asian Games, Chiaki Mukai 4-dan & Shinji Takao 9-dan and Ayumi Suzuki 5-dan & Satoshi Yuki 9-dan, were playing unchanged in this tournament, so the other 28 players drew lots.
The females drew lots first. The top batter was Yimin Xie, Women's Honinbo. Her green one-piece dress looked beautiful. The women players drew letters - A, B, C, etc. -- deciding their positions on the chart. No partners were decided at this stage, so they were relaxed. Next, the male players drew lots, starting with Yuta Iyama Meijin. The pairs were decided one by one. Norimoto Yoda 9-dan looked impressive in Japanese clothing. He smiled as he drew out the ball that decided his partner.
When the pairs were decided, the male players looked happy and some of the female players already looked tense, but there was a friendly atmosphere, different from ordinary tournaments. Next, the draw was held to decide the opponents.
