Yuzuru Hanyu electrified the crowd in his native prefecture with a scintillating show of skill and grace to earn a world-record score of 95.32 in the men's short program on Friday at the NHK Trophy.
Hanyu, the 2010 world junior champion, skated to "Parisian Walkways" and opened with a quad toe loop, then landed a triple axel and a triple lutz/triple toe loop combination and received a raucous round of applause for his efforts.
Hanyu broke his own world mark of 95.07, set at the season-opening Skate America in Kent, Washington, last month. He has a nearly eight-point lead heading into Saturday's free skate.