Naoki Tsukahara, a member of Japan's men's 4x100-meter relay team that won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, will retire from competition after this season, his corporate team at Fujitsu Ltd. said Thursday.

The 31-year-old sprinter, who has a personal-best time of 10.09 seconds in 100 meters, won the individual event at three consecutive Japan national athletics championships starting in 2006 and took silver in the 100 and 4x100 races at the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

In Beijing eight years ago, he advanced to the semifinals of the 100 and ran the first leg of the relay en route to claiming Japan's first Olympic medal in a men's track event.