Japan Championships in Athletics
Akimoto emerged as one of Japan's top female sprinters while still a high school student in the mid-1970s. At the 1975 Japan international indoor meet, she was second in the 50 metres, beaten only by two-time Olympian Mamie Rallins of the United States despite the two sharing the same time. She won her first national title in the 100 m hurdles at the 1977 Japan Championships in Athletics. Her time of 14.09 seconds was the fastest automatically-timed win at the competition at that point. Her first medal for Japan at a major tournament followed at the 1977 Pacific Conference Games held in Canberra. She finished third behind America's Deby LaPlante and Cheryl Boswell of Australia.