The first marathon race was conducted in Japan in 1909. The Mainichi newspapers in its articles had introduced races that had been held in Europe and America. Then on March, 21 they hosted a race which was to be the very first marathon race held in Japan. The course stretched out from Kobe to Osaka. In 1912, Japan sent a marathon runner to the Stockholm Olympic Games and it cemented the popularity of the marathon in Japan. In 1946, just after the end of the war, a race was conducted in hope of encouraging Japanese people to reconstruct the nation. The Mainichi Newspapers and Japan Association of Athletics Federation organized the Mainichi Marathon which was held on October 20 1946. Sixty three athletes participated in the race on a course laid out in Osaka. Since then the race has been held annually and has constantly served as a qualifying event for major championships such as the Olympic Games, World Championships in Athletics, the World University Games, and Asian Games.   The 16th Race (1961) The race invited the gold medalist of the Rome Olympic Games, Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia. The swarm of general public, eager to see the medalist, surged into the road side and that caused a big traffic jam. Abebe Bikila overcame the difficulties and won the race. The 17th Race (1962) The venue was relocated to the city of Otsu in the Shiga prefecture because of the traffic problems during the previous event in Osaka. The 18th Race (1963) The race was held in Tokyo with the intention to have it operate as a test race for the Tokyo Olympic Games that were to be held in the following year. The 19th Race (1964) The race was held in Tokyo again and served as a final qualifying meet for the Japanese Olympic Team and a rehearsal race for the Tokyo Olympic marathon. The 20th Race (1965) The race returned to Otsu. Abebe Bikila, the gold medalist of Tokyo Olympic Games, was again invited. Spectators were estimated at 200,000. The 25th Race (1970) Bill Adcocks of England was invited and won the race with a new course record of 2:13:46. The 28th Race (1973) Frank Shorter of the US was invited, won the race at 2:12:03 and lowered the course record again. The 32nd Race (1977) Two-time Olympic marathon medalist, Karel Lismont of Belgium was invited. The 33rd Race (1978) Japanese twin brothers, Takeshi and Shigeru So, were invited and placed first and third, respectively. The 35th Race (1980) 104 athletes participated, the greatest number to that date. The 38th Race (1983) The race title was renamed the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon. Participants more than doubled to 231. The 39th Race (1984) Athletes from Asian countries like India and China were invited in order to promote the sport in the region. This project continued till the 41st race. 313 athletes participated. The 43rd Race (1988) The race served as the 1st Asian Athletics Championships men’s marathon race and is the final selection race for a Japanese men’s marathon team for the Seoul Olympic Games. Toshihiko Seko of Japan won this race and secured an Olympic berth. The 45th Race (1990) Belgian Eddy Hellebuyck’s skillful tactics earned the victory. It was the first time in thirteen years for a foreign athlete to win Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon. The 49th Race (1994) The race was held in Hiroshima in order for it to be a rehearsal for the Asian Championships men’s marathon to be held in the city in the following year. The 50th Race (1995) The race returned to Otsu. The wife of Mr. Bikira Abebe was invited to the commemorative ceremony. A university student, Yuji Nakamura of Japan, won the race. The 51st Race (1996) Joaquim Pinheiro of Portugal won the race with the new course record of 2:09:32. The 52nd Race (1997) The winner of ’95 World Championships, Martin Fiz of Spain, won the race with a time of 2:08:05, a course record and the fastest time in the world that year. The 54th Race (1999) A university student, Atsushi Fujita finished 2nd to Martin Fiz with a time of 2:10:07, breaking the 20-year old Japanese university record of Toshihiko Seko. Mr. Fujita went on to become Japanese record holder. The 56th Race (2001) Antonio Pena of Spain won the race at 2:07:34, making the course record that has not been broken up this date. The 57th Race (2002) A Japanese athlete, Ryuji Takei, won the race with the best Japanese record of the year at 2:08:35. The last Japanese won the race was four years before. The 58th Race (2003) Japhet Kosgei of Kenya won the race. First Japanese to finish was Masakazu Fujiwara, making his debut at the marathon. His time of 2:08:12 was the best Japanese record made by athletes who completed their first marathon.