The All Japan Championship (also known as the All Japan Open or All Japan Open Championship) is an annual pool event in the discipline of nine-ball. It has sometimes been called the Japan Open for short, though this was also the name of a short-lived competing event. From 2012 to 2015, the men's tournament was played in the discipline of ten-ball. In some years, the event was held twice, the earlier event as All Japan Championship and the later one as [All] Japan Open. The most successful players, with a tie at four wins each, are Ko Pin-yi (July and November 2011, November 2013, and November 2016),[1] and Efren Reyes (November 1990, November 1999, November 2003, and March 2005)[2] Akimi Kajitani has won the women's tournament the most times, twice (2000 and 2013).
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In addition to the All Japan Open another tournament known as the Japan Open was held in 2009 and 2010 in the New Pia Hall.[4][5]
Winners of this tournament were the Philippines Francisco Bustamante and Ramil Gallego in the men's event[6][7] as well as the Taiwanese women Tan Hsiang-ling and Chou Chieh-yu were winners of the women's event.[8][9] Chou Chieh-yu is the only player to have won both events.
The prize money of the Japan Open was significantly lower than that of the All Japan Open. During 2010, at the All Japan Open men's event, the prize purse was a total of $82,000 of which the winner received about $24,000,[10] The winner of the Japan Open 2010 received only $17,000 in prize money, at just under $42,000 in total prize money. In the women's at the Japan Open 2010 about $11,000 were distributed, with the winner receiving $4,400, at the All Japan Open the same year, however, were distributed over $21,000, of which the winner received about $7,000.[11]