BIRMINGHAM, England (Kyodo) Japan is assured of a pair in the final of the All England Championships after Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito on Friday reached the women's doubles semifinals where they will face Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa.
It will be the first time since 1991 that Japan has reached the final in the event. The semis will be held on Saturday.
Matsuo-Naito beat China's Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei 21-19, 15-21, 24-22 to advance while Fujii-Kakiiwa knocked out Petya Nedelcheva of India and Anastasia Russkikh of Russia 21-18, 21-15.
In the men's singles, Kazushi Yamada went out in the quarterfinals, losing 18-21, 21-17, 15-21 to Germany's Marc Zwiebler.