All Japan Poker Championship (AJPC)

The All Japan Poker Championship (AJPC) has organized poker competitions in Japan since 2007. Japanese law does not allow prize pools built from buy-ins. The domestic championship is therefore free to enter, from its online qualifiers to the final. In December 2017 AJPC took the brand abroad. Its new AJPC Asian Circuit opened at Paradise City Incheon in South Korea.

That international branch now runs as the AJPC Samurai Circuit, with regular buy-ins and cash prizes. Since 2025 it has held about five stops a year, in Incheon and at the CTP Asia Poker Arena in Taiwan. Each stop lasts about a week with 20 to 35 events. Main Events range from TWD 11,000 (~US$350) in Taipei to KRW 1.65 million (~US$1,100) in Incheon. Dates and results appear on the official AJPC Samurai Circuit site.

Fields are modest, with 70 to 514 Main Event entries in Asia Poker Hub data. The largest came at the AJPC Samurai Circuit Philippines 2025 at City of Dreams Manila. It drew 514 entries for PHP 15 million (~US$264,000) and was won by Jinkwan Kim. The circuit gives Japanese players a cash-prize stage close to home. They have won four of its eight Main Events since 2025, including Shoma Ishikawa in Taipei in May 2026.