From an IGFA press release:

Documentation for a much talked about 22 lb 4 oz largemouth bass, caught [by Manabu Kurita] from Japan’s largest lake in July, has arrived into the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) headquarters for world record recognition. . . .

IGFA conservation director Jason Schratwieser said the World All-Tackle application is currently under review after it was received through the Japan Game Fish Association (JGFA). . . . Photos and video were also submitted with the written documentation.

Kurita’s fish would tie the current record held for over 77 years by George Perry caught on Georgia’s Montgomery Lake, June 2, 1932, near Jacksonville, Georgia. . . .

“We still have a number of questions to ask [the JGFA] and Kurita regarding local laws and the area he caught it in while he was trolling through a canal on the lake,” said Schratwieser.

“We hope to make an announcement in three to four weeks.”