is a Japanese figure skater. He is the 2026 World Junior bronze medalist, a two-time ISU Junior Grand Prix medalist, and a two-time Japanese junior national medalist.
Personal life Nishino was born on 16 October 2009 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
He cites Yuzuru Hanyu and Yuma Kagiyama as his greatest skating influences. His hobbies include cooking, shopping and napping.
Career Early career Nishino began skating at age five, inspired by his older sister and watching Yuzuru Hanyu's Parisienne Walkways short program at the 2014 Winter Olympics. His first coach was Eri Kikkawa.
Nishino debuted as a basic novice skater at the 2019–20 Japan Championships, winning the silver medal and winning bronze the following year.
During the 2021–22 season, Nishino moved up to the advanced novice level, winning silver at the 2021–22 Japan Championships. With that result, he was selected to compete at the Japan Junior Championships, where he finished in twenty-fifth place.
Prior to the 2022–23 season, Misao Sato became Nishino's new coach. He subsequently went on to win silver on the advanced novice level and finished twelfth on the junior level at the 2022–23 Japan Championships.
2023–24 season: Junior international debut Nishino made his junior international debut in August at the 2023 JGP Austria, where he finished in ninth place. A couple months later, he competed at the 2023–24 Japan Junior Championships, finishing fifth overall. Selected to compete on the senior level at the 2023–24 Japan Championships in December, Nishino placed thirtieth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment.
2024–25 season Nishino opened his season by finishing sixth at 2024 JGP Czech Republic. He went on to compete at the 2024–25 Japan Junior Championships, winning the bronze medal behind Rio Nakata and Sena Takahashi.
In December, Nishino competed at the 2024–25 Japan Championships, where he placed twelfth overall.
2025–26 season: World Junior bronze Nishino began his season by winning the gold medal at 2025 JGP Italy. During his free skate at the event, he successfully completed both a quadruple toe loop and a quadruple salchow, breaking his personal bests in both the free skate and combined total scores. He went on to compete at 2025 JGP Poland, winning the silver medal. With these results, Nishino qualified for the 2025–26 Junior Grand Prix Final.
In November, Nishino competed at the 2025–26 Japan Junior Championships, where he won the silver medal behind Rio Nakata.
The following month, he competed at the 2025–26 Junior Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan, placing fifth overall. Two weeks later, Nishino competed on the senior level at the 2025–26 Japan Championships, finishing in eleventh place overall.
Selected to compete at the 2026 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Nishino placed fourth in the short program and second in the free skate to win the bronze medal overall behind Rio Nakata and Seo Min-kyu as well as scoring personal bests in all competition segments. "The good thing about this free skate was that I managed to skate a clean program and fight until the end. That was good," he said during a press conference following the event.
2026-2027 season Nishino starts out his season at the 2026 JGP Thailand where he singled out his planned triple axel in the short program placing him in 13th place.
Programs Season Short program Free skating Exhibition 2026–2027 Piano Concerto In C Minor, 'Rhapsody In Blue' Part II The Four Seasons Spring 2 Summer 3 Autumn 2 Winter 1 Hitokiri Battosai ~Killing Sword~ 2025–2026 Such a Night Ludwig van Beethoven Medley Moonlight Sonata (Epic Trailer Version) Symphony No. 5 (Epic Trailer Version) Für Elise (Epic Trailer Version) Judas 2024–2025 Smile Earth Song Rock Me Amadeus Autumn Moon 2023–2024 I Want You Back Eleanor Rigby
Carmina Burana O Fortuna Primo Vere: Veris Leta Facies - Omnia Sol Temperat - Ecce Gratum 2022–2023 Stampede Believer 2021–2022 Caravan The Phantom of the Opera
Competitive highlights
Detailed results
Senior level
Junior level
References
External links
Taiga Nishino at the Japan Skating Federation Taiga Nishino at Fuji TV