First Prize was awarded to Guangbin Wang, a 24-year-old pianist from Guangzhou who graduated from the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in 2025. Blind since infancy, he began studying the piano at the age of five and later became a student of Songwen Li, head of the conservatory's Piano Department. In 2021, he became the institution's first visually impaired student. His previous distinctions include prizes at the Guangzhou Open Piano Competition and the Xinghai Cup National Piano Competition. At his graduation concert in June 2025, he performed the Yellow River Piano Concerto, and he has also participated in educational and charitable music projects for visually impaired children. In Tokyo, he presented a demanding programme including Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit and his own piano arrangement of the final movement of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, before performing Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto in the final.
Second Prize went to Yang (Jack) Gao, who also received the Audience Prize. Third Prize was awarded to Zhixuan Wang, a 16-year-old student at the Middle School affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. The competition also recognised Kyoshiro Hirama with an Encouragement Prize and Rafael Kyrychenko with a Special Jury Prize.
An important feature of the Tokyo MINATO CITY initiative is its combination of an international competition with educational activities for the local community. Its chamber music workshops for children offer direct contact with professional musicians and encourage young participants to develop their ensemble skills. This year's programme involved jury chair Fuminori Shinozaki and pianist Kazuo Irie. Although one workshop session, scheduled for 21 September, had to be cancelled because of an approaching typhoon, the educational programme remained an integral part of the event.
Organised by Minato City, the Kiss Port Foundation and the competition's executive committee, the event seeks to combine international artistic exchange with opportunities for local audiences and young musicians. Following the violin edition in 2024, cello in 2025 and piano in 2026, the competition will return to violin in its next cycle.
