NEW YORK -- A trio of gustatory gladiators from Japan out-gobbled all other international competitors at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest here Tuesday, sweeping the top three spots and reclaiming the coveted Mustard Yellow Belt.

The first prize winner, Kazutoyo Arai, 33, set a new world record, downing 25 1/8 franks and buns in 12 minutes. He was followed by Masao Fujita, who ate 24 hot dogs. Takako Akasaka, 45, the first female place winner in the contest's 85-year history, came in third with 22 1/4.

As his victory was announced, Arai, a bedding salesman from Saitama Prefecture, held his trophy belt high above his head as a cheering crowd of onlookers gathered on the boardwalk in Brooklyn's Coney Island.

"If I had had more than 12 minutes, I could have eaten even more," Arai, who weighs 45 kg, later told reporters.

The second- and third-place finishers wished they had eaten more.

"I came here to win the contest, not to take second place," said the 100-kg Fujita, 47, a banana-eating champion from Shiga Prefecture.

Akasaka, a 45-kg insurance saleswoman who had won a "manju" sweet dumpling eating contest in Japan, echoed that sentiment.

"I just wanted to win," she said, brushing off questions about her sex.

The contest at Nathan's Famous on Surf Avenue, the original location of a popular national fast food chain, is an annual Fourth of July ritual that dates back to 1916.

In recent years, Japanese have dominated the event -- most notably with Hirofumi Nakajima's three-year winning streak beginning in 1996.

Nakajima, of Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, retired last year after placing third and losing to Steve Keiner, 51, a 176-kg electrician.

This year, however, Keiner and other competitors from the U.S., Germany, England and Canada just couldn't keep up with the Asian competition.

Tuesday's contest marked the first time Japanese captured the three top spots.

"Arai's amazing," said Charles "Hungry" Hardy, 36, a 160-kg corrections officer from Brooklyn who came in second last year. "He's really good, so he deserves to win."

Arai, who once ate 117 dumplings in 12 minutes in Japan, told reporters that he'd already made special dinner plans. "I'm going to eat a big plate of sushi tonight to celebrate."