Shinjin O

Shinjin O (新人王, “King of the New Stars”) is a single knockout tournament in Japan sponsored by the Akahata (Red Flag) Shimbun, which is the newspaper of the Japanese Communist Party. The tournament was originally open to players 7 dan and below, who were 30 years old or younger. In 2006, it became the 'King of the New Stars U-25' tournament and the age restriction was lowered to 25 years old. Thinking time is 4 hours per player (3 hours from 2006), and the winner's prize is ¥3,280,000.

Since the end of Yamashita Keigo’s record four win streak in 2002 (although Yoda Norimoto won five times overall), the tournament had been won by a different player every year up to 2007. From 2008, the winner "graduates" from the tournament and can never participate again.

The 1992 Shinjin O final (lost to Komatsu Hideki) was one of the closest times Michael Redmond got to winning a professional tournament after his victory over Muramatsu Ryuichi in the 1985 Ryuen Cup young players’ invitational, along with the 1997 North American Masters' Tournament, which he lost 0–2 to Jiang Zhujiu.

Although Ueno Asami’s appearance in the final in 2021 was a notable achievement of women's Go in Japan, it was not the first time a woman had done this: Aoki Kikuyo did so in 1997. But when Ueno won the title in 2023, this was the first time a woman had done so.

The final is a best of 3 match.

More information at Shinjin O, Go For Everyone