In front of 14,000 spectators at the Nippon Budokan sports hall, the venue for karate when the sport makes its debut at Tokyo 2020,  Shimizu recorded a score of 27.68, the same as Sánchez.

The resulting tie-breaker saw Shimizu manage 27.74 to Sanchez's 27.48, ensuring Shimizu took gold in front of her home crowd.

"It was great to have such fantastic support from the stands," said Shimizu.

"The cheering of all the spectators gave me wings.

"It also gave me the responsibility to do my best to fulfill their expectations."

On what was a successful day for the host nation, Japan took a further seven gold medals.

Ryo Kiyuna triumphed in the male kata with a score of 28.38, while Hiroto Gomyo defeated Turkey's Burak Uygur 2-1 in the men's under-67 kilogram kumite final.

Ken Nishimura then stunned Rafael Aghayev of Azerbaijan, a five-time world champion, in the men's under-75kg. 

The bout was scoreless when the clock ran out before Nishimura was given the victory by decision.

Another Japanese gold came in the men's under-84kg through Ryutaro Araga, a 2-1 winner against Iran's Zabihollah Poorshab, while Ayumi Uekusa was victorious in the women's over-68kg after beating Clio Ferracuti of Italy 5-0. 

Japan then topped the podium in both the male and female team finals. 

Today's competition concluded the fifth leg of the Karate 1-Premier League, but the same venue will host a Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games test event tomorrow.