Kaori Sakamoto’s net worth is estimated at $5 million as of 2026, making her one of the most successful Japanese figure skaters of all time. She is a four-time World champion, two-time Olympic medalist, and six-time national champion who retired from competitive skating in spring 2026 at just 26 years old — closing out one of the most decorated careers in her sport’s history.
Quick Facts
| Full Name | Sakamoto Kaori (坂本花織) |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | April 5, 2000 |
| Age | 26 years old |
| Height | 5’1″ (155 cm) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Profession | Professional Figure Skater (retired) |
| Net Worth | $5 Million (2026) |
| Birthplace | Kobe, Hyogo, Japan |
| Known For | Four-time World champion; 2022 Olympic bronze, 2026 Olympic silver |
FAQ: Everything You Need to Know About Kaori Sakamoto
What is Kaori Sakamoto’s net worth in 2026?
Kaori Sakamoto’s net worth is estimated at approximately $5 million as of 2026. Her wealth comes from a combination of competitive prize money, her long-term corporate sponsorship with Sysmex Corporation, appearance fees from ice shows and exhibitions, and endorsement deals accumulated over a decade-long professional career. While figure skating does not generate the same earnings as NFL or NBA careers, Sakamoto’s sustained excellence at the highest level, combined with her profile in Japan’s sports-obsessed media market, helped her build a respectable fortune.
How did Kaori Sakamoto become famous?
Sakamoto burst onto the international figure skating scene as a teenager, winning her first senior national title in Japan at just 17. Her breakthrough at the international level came at the 2022 World Championships, where she won gold — the first of what would become four World titles. She also claimed Olympic bronze at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games and silver at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, cementing her legacy as one of Japan’s greatest winter sports athletes.
What is Kaori Sakamoto’s main source of income?
Sakamoto’s primary income source was her corporate sponsorship with Sysmex Corporation, a Kobe-based global healthcare diagnostics company. This affiliation, signed in 2017 at age 17, provided rare financial stability for a teenage figure skater. She supplemented this with Grand Prix prize money, World Championship winnings, and appearance fees from Japan’s lucrative ice show circuit.
Did Kaori Sakamoto win the 2026 Olympics?
Kaori Sakamoto won the silver medal at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. She had entered as a strong gold favourite after dominating the Grand Prix season. While she narrowly missed gold, she followed up the Olympic silver with her fourth World Championship crown just weeks later in Prague, retiring as the most decorated active female skater of her generation.
What year did Kaori Sakamoto retire?
Kaori Sakamoto announced her retirement in spring 2026 after the 2026 World Championships in Prague — where she won her fourth title in an emotional farewell. After retirement, she transitioned to coaching, with “Coach Sakamoto” debuting in spring 2026. She retired at age 26 with over a decade of elite competition behind her.
Where is Kaori Sakamoto from?
Kaori Sakamoto was born and raised in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. She trained throughout her career at the Kobe Chuo Gymnasium under coach Sonoko Nakano. Her principal sponsor, Sysmex Corporation, is also headquartered in Kobe — making her one of the city’s most prominent sporting ambassadors.
How many World titles did Kaori Sakamoto win?
Kaori Sakamoto won four World Championship titles: 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2026. This makes her one of the few female skaters in history to win four or more World titles. Her fourth and final title came in Prague in 2026, doubling as her competitive farewell to the sport.
Is Kaori Sakamoto married?
As of 2026, Kaori Sakamoto has not publicly confirmed any romantic relationship or marriage. She maintained deliberate privacy about her personal life throughout her career, focusing her public persona entirely on her skating. Following her retirement, she indicated plans to remain in the skating world as a coach.
How Does Kaori Sakamoto Make Money?
| Income Source | Estimated Amount | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sysmex Corporation Sponsorship | $300,000–$500,000/year | Annual (personal) | Long-term deal signed 2017; covered training + salary |
| Competition Prize Money | $50,000–$150,000/year | Annual (personal) | ISU Grand Prix, World Championships, Olympics |
| Ice Shows & Exhibitions | $100,000–$200,000/year | Annual (personal) | Champions on Ice, Fantasy on Ice; Japan market is lucrative |
| Media & Endorsements | $150,000–$300,000/year | Annual (personal) | TV appearances, Japanese brand partnerships |
| Career Savings (2015–2026) | $3–4M | Cumulative | 10+ years of sponsorship, prizes, and appearances |
| Estimated Total Net Worth | $5 Million (2026) | ||
Career Overview: A Decade at the Top
Kaori Sakamoto began skating at age five in Kobe, showing early promise that led her parents to invest heavily in her training. By her early teens she was competing at the junior national level, winning her first junior title before transitioning to the senior circuit earlier than most of her contemporaries.
Her senior debut at the ISU Grand Prix circuit revealed a technically solid, physically powerful skater. Unlike many peers who relied on triple-triple combinations, Sakamoto built her programs around expression, edge quality, and high program component scores. She won her first senior national title in 2018 at age 17 and competed at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, placing sixth — impressive for an 18-year-old on her Olympic debut.
At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, she claimed bronze in women’s singles, giving Japan its first Olympic figure skating individual medal since Shizuka Arakawa in 2006. Weeks later, she won the 2022 World Championships — the first of three consecutive titles. She went on to dominate the sport for four years, winning Worlds again in 2023, 2024, and in an emotional final outing in Prague in 2026.
The NHK Trophy win in November 2025 was particularly significant. Sakamoto had been under pressure heading into the final season of her career, with public speculation about whether she could maintain her dominance through an Olympic year. Her performance — scoring personal bests in the short program and producing world-leading scores overall — silenced any doubters. The victory set up what would become an extraordinary final six months of competition, culminating in her Olympic silver and final World title.
Sakamoto’s influence on Japanese figure skating extended far beyond her own performances. She served as an inspiration for a generation of younger Japanese skaters and became one of the most recognisable sports figures in Japan — regularly appearing in mainstream advertising campaigns, television specials, and sporting events coverage that extended well beyond figure skating’s traditional audience. Her commercial profile in Japan contributed significantly to the media and endorsements portion of her income.
Early Life and Training
Born on April 5, 2000 in Kobe, Japan, Sakamoto showed natural talent from age five. Her coach, Sonoko Nakano, developed her distinctive style — focusing on natural athleticism and expressive quality. Training at the Kobe Chuo Gymnasium, Sakamoto benefited from the stability of staying close to home throughout her career. The 2017 Sysmex deal transformed her financial situation, allowing her to focus entirely on training without the burden of self-funding an elite skating career.
Personal Life
Sakamoto has maintained a private personal life throughout her career, rarely speaking about relationships or life outside skating. She has spoken warmly about her family’s support and the role of Kobe in grounding her through the highs and lows of elite competition. Following her retirement, she described her transition to coaching as a natural next step — giving back to Japanese figure skating the mentorship that shaped her own career.
Off the ice, Sakamoto was known for her warm and humorous media presence, often contrasting with the intense focus she brought to competition. She became well-known in Japan for her genuine interactions with fans and for her refreshing honesty about the pressures of elite sport. She spoke openly about the mental challenges of defending World titles year after year, and about how her support network of coaches, family, and the Kobe skating community helped her maintain balance throughout her career.
The announcement of her post-retirement coaching career was met with widespread enthusiasm in Japanese sporting circles. Her technical knowledge, combined with the perspective of having competed at the very top of the sport for over a decade, made her an immediately credible candidate to guide the next generation of Japanese skaters. Several reports suggested she would take on a coaching role at her home club in Kobe, completing the full circle of a career that began and ended in the same city.
Little-Known Facts About Kaori Sakamoto
- Sakamoto became the first Japanese female skater to win three consecutive World Championship titles, matching a feat last achieved by Michelle Kwan.
- Her signature element was her extraordinary edge quality and deep knee bend, which coaches described as giving her jumps a distinctive “floating” quality.
- Despite her global success, she remained loyal to her hometown club and training setup in Kobe, never relocating for training advantages.
- She won the Japanese national championship six times — more than any other active female skater in the country during her era.
- The 2026 World Championships in Prague marked the first time she publicly cried on the ice — an emotional farewell in her final competitive performance.