Japan is aiming to become the first country since Russia in 2002 to win gold medals in both the men's and women's events at figure skating's world championships.
On a star-studded team, Mao Asada, Miki Ando and Yukari Nakano all look strong on the women's side, while Daisuke Takahashi is peaking at the right time for the men.
Irina Slutskaya and Alexei Yagudin won the men's and women's events at the 2002 worlds in Nagano.