Nao Kodaira stormed to her fourth women's 500-meter World Cup win of the season on Friday.
Kodaira clocked 37.69 seconds for the gold, while China's Yu Jing took second place with 37.81 and Maki Tsuji took third with 37.97.
Kodaira, 30, was teamed with World and Olympic champion Lee Sang-Hwa in the penultimate pair and both sprinters opened fast with 100-meter times of 10.4.
Entering the first turn from the outer lane, Lee lost balance a little and although she managed to stay on her feet, Kodaira was long gone. Lee ended up ninth.
"I am happy to be able to show how much I have improved," Kodaira said.