On Day 4 of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Japan won the silver medal in the men's medley relay with a Japanese record. The taller swimmers narrowed the gap with powerful strokes, and Mitsunaga (光永) received the baton.
Japan's men's medley relay team lost to China, the reigning Olympic champions from Paris, but won the silver medal with a new Japanese record. The previous record had been set in the final of the Tokyo Olympics.
In the race, Japan continued its strong performance after the 800-meter relay, narrowing a 1.28-second gap to 0.50 seconds before passing on to the next swimmer. The key was the swimmers' long, powerful strokes, which capitalized on their height.
The report quoted an athlete as reflecting that they had been able to swim calmly through to the finish, and introduced comments identifying a medley relay gold medal in the future as a life goal.