2002 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships – Women's singles

Monica Seles was the defending champion, but did not compete this year.

Unseeded Jill Craybas won the title by defeating Silvija Talaja 2–6, 6–4, 6–4 in the final. It was the 1st title for Craybas in her singles career.

Seeds
The first two seeds received a bye into the second round. • # 🇯🇵 Ai Sugiyama (quarterfinals)

• # 🇹🇭 Tamarine Tanasugarn (semifinals)

• # 🇪🇸 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (second round)

• # Emmanuelle Gagliardi (second round)

• # Cara Black (first round)

• # 🇷🇺 Svetlana Kuznetsova (second round)

• # 🇪🇸 Virginia Ruano Pascual (second round)

• # Jelena Kostanić (quarterfinals)