Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that figure skater Miki Ando will join the automaker next April after graduating from high school.
Ando, 17, started skating at the age of 8 and won the Junior Grand Prix Final in 2001 and 2002, and the women's national championship in 2003 and 2004. She was also the gold medal winner at the 2004 World Junior Figure Skating Championships.
Ando is a candidate to represent Japan at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
"I am happy. I'll be working for the Aichi Prefecture-based company as I had hoped," said Ando, who hails from Nagoya. "After joining the company, I would like to do my best while becoming a full member of society," she said.