Nathan Chen fell three times Saturday in his first figure skating event since winning the world title by a record margin in March.
Chen, who rebounded from placing fifth in PyeongChang to become youngest male world champ in 17 years, opened what will be a unique season with a fourth-place finish in the six-skater Japan Open, a free skate-only event that includes some non-competitive skaters.
Olympic silver medalist Shoma Uno of Japan won with 186.69 points, falling once and landing two quads.
Nobunari Oda, a 2010 Japanese Olympian who last skated on the elite level in 2013, and Spain’s Javier Fernandez, the PyeongChang bronze medalist in what could be his last competitive season, were second and third with 176.