Women's world champion Shizuka Arakawa will compete at her first meet of the season as a seeded entry at the NHK Cup to be held in Japan in November, the International Skating Union said Tuesday.
Arakawa will be seeded in the third event from Nov. 4-7 of the six Grand Prix final qualifiers. She is also seeded for the fifth and sixth meets in France and Russia, respectively.
World junior champion Miki Ando will perform at the season-opening Skate America in the United States, the NHK Cup and the fourth event in China.
Arakawa outperformed Sasha Cohen of the United States in March to become the third Japanese skater to claim gold at a World Championship after Midori Ito (1984) and Yuka Sato (1994). Cohen came second while compatriot and five-time world champion Michelle Kwan placed third.