Kenya's Samuel Ndungu outpaced the field in driving rain to win his second Lake Biwa Marathon on Sunday.
Ndungu, who also won the 2012 edition, ran uncontested for most of the latter part of the race and cut the tape at 2 hours, 9 minutes, 8 seconds at Ojiyama Stadium.
Kazuhiro Maeda was the top finisher among Japanese runners in fourth in 2:11:46 in the marathon which acted as a qualifier for the world athletic championships this August in Beijing. Marathon debutant Takuya Noguchi placed fifth.