Defending champion Toshinari Takaoka, who owns the men's national record of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 16 seconds, is among 11 elite runners invited to take part in the Tokyo International Marathon next month, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations said Thursday.
Takaoka, who came fourth in the world championships in Helsinki last year, is included among five domestic invitees for the Feb. 12 race that starts and ends at National Stadium in Tokyo.
Japan-based Daniel Jenga, a native of Kenya, who has posted a personal best to match Takaoka's national record, and Satoshi Irifune, who represented Japan at the world championships, will also take part.
Six overseas runners, including Sammy Korir of Kenya, who holds the world's second-best time of 2:04:56, and 2003 Tokyo marathon champion Zebedayo Bayo of Tanzania, have received invitations.
The marathon will double as a qualifier for the 2006 Asian Games in Doha in December.
It will also be the final race leading to a large-scale Tokyo Marathon in 2007, organized by the Tokyo metropolitan government and JAAF, intended to draw about 30,000 participants.