Reigning men's national champion Yamato Tamura said Saturday he has decided to retire as a competitive figure skater.
The 25-year-old, who won his first national title in six years and second overall in the absence of Takeshi Honda in Nagano last December, hopes to take part in ice shows as well as coach other skaters in his next career.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking after the world championships (in March), but I couldn't find the motivation to go on next season," Tamura said.