Japan is known to excel in a lot of things, sports not being an exception. In fact, Japan is among the most talked about countries in this year’s international men’s and women’s volleyball tournaments organized by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), coming in at 4th and 6th place, respectively, overall.
FIVB World League (WL) Japan Volleyball Team Players
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The FIVB World League (WL) is a men’s tournament that dates back to the year 1990. It serves as the longest international event of the FIVB and is held on an annual basis.
Japan’s participation in the 2017 FIVB WL marks their 24th time to compete in the event. During the 2008, 1993, and 1990 tournaments, the Japan volleyball team was able to finish in 6th place.
The team has also won several medals including the gold medal at the 1972 Olympic Games (Munich), the silver medal at the 1968 Olympic Games (Mexico), and the bronze medal at the 1964 Olympic Games (Tokyo). At present, the team has been granted the title of the Asian Champions eight times, in total.
Japan’s men’s volleyball team is currently being led by Coach Nakagaichi Yuichi, who used to play opposite in the Japanese team, particularly during the FIVB World Championships of 1998, 1994, and 1990, as well as the Olympic Games of 1992.
Nakagaichi Tuichi previously played for the Sakai Blazers and Nippon Steel before starting his coaching career in the United States and in Japan. His current position as head coach of Japan’s national team was only given to him late of 2016.
The team of staff that assists Coach Nakagaichi Yuichi includes Yahima Hisanori as Team Manager, Blain Philippe as Assistant Coach, Tsumagari Katsutoshi as Second Assistant Coach, Nishino Tomofumi as the Team Doctor, and Tanak Hiroshi as the Team Physiotherapist.
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Japan’s men’s national volleyball team is composed of the following players:
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Hideomi Fukatsu (2)
Hideomi Fukatsu serves as the captain of the team and plays the role of setter. He was born on June 1, 1990 in Aichi, Japan and is currently a player for the Panasonic Panthers Club.
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Akihiro Yamauchi (6)
Akihiro Yamauchi plays the role of middle blocker. He was born on November 30, 1993 in Aichi, Japan. At present, he plays for the Panasonic Panthers Club.
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Takashi Dekita (7)
Takashi Dekita plays the role of opposite spiker. He was born on August 13, 1991 in Hokkaido, Japan. He currently plays for the Sakai Blazers Club but made his debut at the Hoshioki Junior High School.
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Masahiro Yanagida (8)
Masahiro Yanagida plays the role of wing spiker and is among Japan’s leading volleyball players. He was born on July 6, 1992 in Tokyo, Japan. His current club is the TV Ingersoll Buhl but has signed a contract to professionally compete in other countries.
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Masashi Kuriyama (9)
Masashi Kuriyama plays the role of wing spiker. He was born on July 14, 1988 in Saga, Japan. He currently plays for the Suntoru Sunbirds but also has an interest in Mixed Martial Arts.
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Shuzo Yamada (10)
Shuzo Yamada plays the role of wing spiker. He was born on November 27, 1992 in Fukuoka, Japan. He made his debut at the Suemachi Boys’ Volleyball Team and is currently a player for the Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza.
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Takuya Takamatsu (12)
Takuya Takamatsu plays the role of wing spiker. He was born on January 8, 1988 in Oita, Japan. His debut club was the Sakaigawa Elementary School and he now plays for the Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza.
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Naoya Takano (13)
Naoya Takano plays the role of wing spiker. He was born on April 30, 1993 and currently plays for the Sakai Blazers.
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Yuki Ishikawa (14)
Yuki Ishikawa plays the role of wing spiker. He was born on December 11, 1995 in Aichi, Japan. His current club is the Chuo University.
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Haku Ri (15)
Haku Ri plays the role of middle blocker. He was born on December 27, 1990 in Miyagi, Japan and currently serves as a player for the Toray Arrows Club.
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Masahiro Sekita (17)
Masahiro Sekita plays the role of setter. He was born on November 20, 1993 and currently plays for the Panasonic Panthers Club.
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Yuji Suzuki (18)
Yuji Suzuki plays the role of wing spiker. He was born on June 7, 1986 in Shizuoka, Japan. His local club debut was the Hiu Junior Volleyball Club, while he made his international debut in the Philippines. At present, he is a player for the Toray Arrows Club.
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Hiroaki Asano (19)
Hiroaki Asano plays the role of libero. He was born on October 6, 1990 and is currently playing for the JTEKT Stings Club.
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Naonobu Fujii (21)
Naonobu Fujii plays the role of setter. He was born on January 5, 1992 and now plays for the Toray Arrows Club.
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Satoshi Ide (22)
Satoshi Ide plays the role of libero. He was born on January 16, 1992 in Nagasaki, Japan. Some of his favorite hobbies include watching movies, reading books, and listening to music. He made his debut at the Asahigaoka Volleyball Club and is now a player for the Toray Arrows Club.
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Taiki Tsuruda (23)
Taiki Tsuruda plays the role of libero. He was born on July 13, 1991 in Fukuoka, Japan. His club debut was the Tachiarai Fighters. At present, he plays for the Suntory Sunbirds Club.
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Taishi Onodera (25)
Taishi Onodera plays the role of wing spiker. He was born on February 27, 1996 and is currently serving as a player for the Tokai University Club.
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Issei Otake (26)
Issei Otake plays the role of opposite spiker. He was born on December 3, 1995 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. He currently plays for the Chuo University Club.
2017 FIVB WL Japan Volleyball Team vs Australia, Slovenia, Etc.
The men’s volleyball team of Japan was assigned to Group 2 of the 2017 FIVB WL. In Pool B2, the team went up against the teams of Slovakia, Portugal, and Australia, losing in the first two matches and winning in the third.
During Pool E2, the Japan Team won all three matches against the teams of Turkey, Slovenia, and Korea, advancing them to Pool G2. Japan’s national team again competed with the Australia Team but lost at 3-2. The following match was against the Turkey Team, which Japan was able to defeat once more.
Pool H2 put the Japan Team up against the China Team, which ended in 3-2 in favor of the latter. Japan was able to make it into the Finals alongside the Slovenia Team by beating the Australia Team in the Semifinals. Ultimate victory went to the team of Slovenia, with the Group 2 Finals ending in 3-0.
Having a total of 5 wins and 4 loses, the men’s volleyball team of Japan placed 4th, overall.
FIVB World Grand Prix (WGP) Japan Team Players
The FIVB World Grand Prix (WGP) serves as the women’s version of the FIVB WL. It was founded back in 1993 and is also held on an annual basis. Three groups make up the tournament, with Groups 1 and 2 having 12 teams each and Group 3 having 8.
Japan’s national volleyball team and that of China are the only two that have participated in all the FIVB WGP tournaments since 1993. Throughout the WGP series, the women’s volleyball team of Japan has only won a single silver medal (2014).
However, they have acquired a significant amount of recognition in other tournaments including several gold medals during the various Olympic Games from the 1960s to the 1970s, silver medals during the Olympic Games of 1968 (Mexico) and 1972 (Munich), and bronze medals from 1984 (Los Angeles) and 2012 (London).
Since their establishment, the women’s volleyball team of Japan has been granted the title of World Champion three times, in total. The team has also won many other medals from the annual Asian Cup Championship and Asian Game.
At present, Nakada Kumi serves as the head coach of the national team. The 52-year old Olympic bronze medalist also played for the Japan Team at the age of 33 (1984). Participating in the Olympic Games of 1988 (Seoul) and 1992 (Barcelona) Nakada Kumi became a three-time Olympian.
Her coaching career started in 2012 when she led the Hisamitsu Springs to several victories in the V. Premier League of Japan. She only took over Masayoshi Manabe’s role this year and is recognized as the very first woman coach of the Japan’s women’s volleyball team.
The members of her staff team include Fukuda Yasuhiro as the Assistant Coach, Akbas Ferhat as the Second Assistant Coach, Obara Kazuhiro as the Team Doctor, and Toyokihara Shun and Hosol Akane as the Team Physiotherapists.
Japan’s women’s national volleyball team consists of the following players:
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Nana Iwasaka (3)
Nana Iwasaka serves as the captain of the national team and plays the role of middle blocker. At a height of 187 cm, she weighs a total of 76 kg and has a medium built that works well to her advantage.
She was born on July 3, 1990 in Chiba, Japan. Her club debut was the Takamiya Junior High School, while she made her international debut in Thailand. She currently plays for the Hisamitsu Springs Club.
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Sarina Koga (2)
Sarina Koga plays the role of wing spiker. She was born on May 21, 1996 and currently plays for the NEC Red Rockets Club.
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Risa Shinnabe (4)
Risa Shinnabe plays the role of wing spiker. She was born on July 11, 1990 in Kagoshima, Japan. Her current club is the Hisamitsu Springs.
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Haruka Miyashita (6)
Haruka Miyashita plays the role of setter. She was born on September 1, 1994 and currently plays for the Okayama Seagulls Club. Her club debut was the Nishihashikita Nozomi.
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Yuki Ishii (7)
Yuki Ishii plays the role of wing spiker. She was born on May 8, 1991 in Okayama, Japan. Her current club is the Hisamitsu Springs.
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Arisa Sato (8)
Arisa Sato plays the role of libero. She was born on July 18, 1989 and made her debut at the Nishi Taga Primary School. She also made an international debut at Kazan, Russia. Arisa Sato currently plays for the Hitachi Rivale Club.
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Haruyo Shimamura (9)
Haruyo Shimamura plays the role of middle blocker. She was born on March 4, 1992 and currently plays for the NEC Red Rockets Club.
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Koyomi Tominaga (10)
Koyomi Tominaga plays the role of setter. She was born on May 1, 1989 in Tokyo, Japan. Her club debut was the Komae Seven and she now serves as a player for the Ageo Medics Club.
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Yurie Nabeya (11)
Yurie Nabeya plays the role of wing spiker. She was born on December 15, 1993 in Tokyo, Japan. She made her local debut at the Ono Gakuen Primary School and her international debut at Almaty, Kazakhstan. Her current club is the Denso Airybees.
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Miya Sato (12)
Miya Sato plays the role of setter. She was born on March 7, 1990 in Akita, Japan. Her club debut was the Kohoku Sports Club, while her international debut was at Taicang, China. She currently plays for the Hitachi Rivale Club.
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Mai Okumura (13)
Mai Okumura plays the role of middle blocker. She was born on October 31, 1990 and is currently serving as a player for the JT Marvelous Club.
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Ayaka Matsumoto (14)
Ayaka Matsumoto plays the role of middle blocker. She was born on December 26, 1988 in Beijing China. In 2009, she graduated from the Jefferson University of the United States. At present, she plays for the Ageo Medics Club.
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Risa Ishii (16)
Risa Ishii plays the role of wing spiker. She was born on May 19, 1990 and currently serves as a player for the Denso Airybees Club.
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Misaki Tanaka (17)
Misaki Tanaka plays the role of setter. She was born on December 28, 1991 in Tochigi, Japan. In 2014, she graduated from Tokyo’s Kaetsu University and now plays for the JR Marvelous Club.
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Mami Uchiseto (18)
Mami Uchiseto plays the role of wing spiker. She was born on October 25, 1991 and is currently playing for the Golem Hermaea Olbia Club.
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Mari Horikawa (19)
Mari Horikawa plays the role of wing spiker. She was born on May 3, 1992 in Tokyo, Japan. Her club debut was the Ueno Angels, while she made her international debut in the Philippines. At present, she plays for the Toray Arrows Club.
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Mako Kobata (20)
Mako Kobata plays the role of libero. She was born on August 15, 1992 and currently plays for the JT Marvelous Club.
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Kotoe Inoue (21)
Kotoe Inoue plays the role of libero. She was born on February 15, 1990 in Kyoto, Japan. She made her debut at the Ryogaoka Sports Club and now serves as a player for the JT Marvelous Club.
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Rika Nomoto (23)
Rika Nomoto plays the role of wing spiker. She was born on September 9, 1991 and currently plays for the Hisamitsu Springs.
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Mizuki Tanaka (24)
Mizuki Tanaka plays the role of wing spiker. She was born on January 28, 1996 in Nagasaki, Japan. Het club debut was the Yunoki Club and her current club is the JT Marvelous.
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Saori Takahashi (25)
Saori Takahashi plays the role of wing spiker. She was born on December 9, 1992 and currently plays for the Toyota Auto Body Queenseis Club.
2017 FIVB WGP Japan Volleyball Team vs Dominican Republic, Thailand, Serbia, Etc.
The women’s volleyball team of Japan was assigned to Group 1 of the 2017 FIVB WGP. During Pool C1, the team competed against the teams from Thailand, the Dominican Republic, and the Netherlands, only losing to the Dominican Republic.
Advancing to Pool D1, the Japan team again won two of the three matches, particularly against the Thailand and Brazil teams. Japan’s national team ultimately lost to the Serbia Team, with the match ending in 0-3.
The national women’s volleyball team of Japan was only able to make it until Pool G1, where it was put up against the teams of China, Serbia, and Russia/Soviet Union. Although it only lost against the China team, Japan’s total number of wins (6) and loses (3) failed to bring them to the finals.
Overall, Japan’s women’s volleyball team came in 6th place.
2018 FIVB Women’s World Championship – Japan (Host Country) & USA (Defending Champions)
Although Japan’s volleyball teams could not make it to the top 3 of their respective tournaments, the local community is looking forward to the upcoming FIVB Women’s World Championship in 2018. Japan will be serving as the host country for the massive tournament where 24 teams are expected to participate in.
Japan, of course, is automatically granted with qualification for the tournament, as well as the team of the United States, which serves as the Defending Champions. The remaining 22 spots were assigned to various teams from Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
The final stages of the tournament will be held in Japan from September 29, 2018 to October 20, 2018. Details regarding the final venue are yet to be finalized but foreign travelers interested in visiting the country next year may want to take note of these dates.