Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu is looking to add more quadruple jumps to his program in a bid to reclaim the title from Spaniard Javier Fernandez at the world championships in March.
Hanyu has been in sensational form this season having become the first skater to break the 300-point barrier at the NHK Trophy in Nagano in late November before reaching 330.43 at the Grand Prix Final on Dec. 13 in Barcelona.
Runnerup at the 2014-15 world championships, Hanyu's current program features a quad toeloop and a quad salchow but he said Monday he is eager to add a quad loop into the mix.
"I should add more types of quads and I have until March to work on it," Hanyu said during a news conference in Sapporo, where he won the national championship on Saturday despite underperforming by his standards.
"Obviously I want to win (at the world championships) but before that I want to perform well like I did at the NHK Trophy and Grand Prix Final."
The nationals doubled as a qualifier for worlds.
Three-time women's world champion Mao Asada, who was third, said, "There is a part of me that caves in to the pressure I put on myself and I have to learn how to overcome that."
Reigning world silver medalist Satoko Miyahara won her second straight national title this past weekend in Sapporo.
"I want to build on the confidence I have gained," she said.
Shoma Uno, who has been selected for the first time, said, "I want to perform perfectly in both the short and free programs."