On September 12, 2025, Kyoto City announced that Nintendo (located in Minami Ward, Kyoto City) had been selected as the primary sponsor of the Kyoto Marathon 2026, to be held in February 2026. The event will be renamed to include the company's name. According to Kyoto City, this is the first time that a large-scale citizen marathon in Japan, such as the Tokyo Marathon, has had a corporate name added to its name.
The Kyoto Marathon, organized by Kyoto City and the Kyoto Athletics Association, began in 2012. Due to rising prices and labor costs, as well as a waning marathon boom, runner entry fees and corporate sponsorships alone are no longer enough to cover the costs of running the event. For the first time in six years, Kyoto City will invest public funds (50 million yen) in next year's event and will also raise the entry fee.
Last year, Kyoto City created the highest-level "Platinum Partner" category in an effort to attract more sponsorship funds. While no companies stepped up last year, Nintendo agreed this year. The sponsorship amount has not been disclosed.
The new event name will be decided following discussions with the company. It is also possible that "Nintendo" will be used on merchandise such as T-shirts and materials such as large monitors that are produced every year. The company's logo is also planned to be displayed on the top of the bibs worn by runners.
According to Kyoto City, it has not yet been decided whether sponsorship will allow the use of general public funds to be avoided. Applications for runners are being accepted until September 22nd.
