Takanori Nagase defeated Frenchman Loic Pietri to win the men's under-81-kg gold medal at the World Judo Championships on Thursday.
It was Nagase's first world title and Japan's second gold medal in the men's competition here following Shohei Ono's win in the 73-kg division on Wednesday.
Japan has now collected a total of four gold medals at these championships.
Nagase finished fifth at the worlds last year, and this is Japan's first gold in the discipline in either the worlds or the Olympics since Makoto Takimoto's win at the 2000 Sydney Games.
On the women's side, Mika Tashiro survived the 63-kg repechage to defeat the Netherlands' Juul Franssen and earn a bronze medal.
