Japan men's national volleyball team facts for kids
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Nickname(s) | Ryujin Nippon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Association | Japan Volleyball Association | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Confederation | AVC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Head coach | Vacant (Philippe Blain 2022-2024) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FIVB ranking | 16 (as of September 2014) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Uniforms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Summer Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appearances | 10 (First in 1964) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best result | ![]() |
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World Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appearances | 17 (First in 1960) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best result | ![]() |
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FIVB World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appearances | 15 (First in 1965) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best result | ![]() |
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Asian Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appearances | 22 (First in 1975) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best result | ![]() |
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Website | www.jva.or.jp/national_team/2024/men_member/ |
The Japan men's national volleyball team is also known as Ryujin Nippon, which means "Dragon God of Japan." This team represents Japan in big international volleyball games. The Japan Volleyball Association manages the team.
As of September 2024, the team is ranked sixth in the world. They even reached second place before the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Japan won a bronze medal at the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games. They then won silver at Mexico 1968 and a gold medal at Munich 1972. After these early successes, the team struggled for a while. They missed three Olympic Games before returning for Beijing 2008.
At the FIVB World Championship, Japan earned bronze medals in 1970 and 1974. They also won silver medals at the 1969 and 1977 FIVB World Cup.
Even with some tough times in world leagues, Japan is known as one of Asia's top volleyball teams. Japan's SV.League is often seen as the best volleyball league in Asia. The national team has won the Asian Championships ten times and the Asian Games eight times.
Recently, Japan has been doing very well in world leagues. They reached the Quarterfinals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. They finished seventh both times, which is their best result since the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. In the last three years, they won bronze and silver medals at the 2023 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League and the 2024 event. These are their best results in this tournament since it started in 2017.
Contents
Team Achievements and Medals
Japan's men's volleyball team has won many medals in different competitions. Here's a quick look at their total medals:
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
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Olympic Games | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
World Championship | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
World Cup | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
World Grand Champions Cup | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Nations League | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Asian Games | 8 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
Asian Championship | 10 | 4 | 4 | 18 |
Asian Cup | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Eastern Asian Championship | 6 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
Universiade | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
Goodwill Games | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Total | 28 | 15 | 23 | 66 |
Tournament Results
Japan has competed in many major volleyball tournaments around the world. Here are some of their results.
Olympic Games History
1st place 2nd place 3rd place 4th place
Japan has a strong history at the Olympic Games, winning gold, silver, and bronze medals.
Olympic Games record | ||||||||
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Year | Position | GP | MW | ML | SW | SL | Squad | |
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3rd place | 9 | 7 | 2 | 22 | 12 | Squad | |
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2nd place | 9 | 7 | 2 | 24 | 6 | Squad | |
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1st place | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 3 | Squad | |
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4th place | 5 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 9 | Squad | |
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Did not play due to boycott | |||||||
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7th place | 6 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 8 | Squad | |
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10th place | 7 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 17 | Squad | |
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6th place | 8 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 20 | Squad | |
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Did not qualify | |||||||
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11th place | 5 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 15 | Squad | |
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Did not qualify | |||||||
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7th place | 6 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 12 | Squad | |
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7th place | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | Squad | |
Total | 1 Title | 10/15 | 66 | 36 | 30 | 133 | 112 | — |
World Championship History
Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
Japan has won two bronze medals at the World Championship.
World Cup History
Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
Japan has won two silver medals at the World Cup.
World Grand Champions Cup History
Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
Japan has won one bronze medal in this now-defunct tournament.
Nations League History
Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
Japan has recently achieved great success in the Nations League, earning both silver and bronze medals.
Asian Championship History
Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
Japan has won the Asian Championship an impressive ten times!
Asian Games History
Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
Japan has won the Asian Games eight times, showing their strength in Asia.
Asian Cup History
Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
Japan has won one silver and three bronze medals at the Asian Cup.
Team Members
Current Squad
This is the list of players for the Japanese team at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Head coach: Philippe Blain
No. | Name | Position | Date of birth | Height | Weight | Spike | Block | 2024–25 club |
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1 | Yuji Nishida | OP | January 30, 2000 | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | 89 kg (196 lb) | 346 cm (136 in) | 335 cm (132 in) | ![]() Osaka Bluteon |
2 | Taishi Onodera | MB | February 27, 1996 | 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) | 94 kg (207 lb) | 343 cm (135 in) | 330 cm (130 in) | ![]() |
3 | Akihiro Fukatsu | S | July 23, 1987 | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | 78 kg (172 lb) | 334 cm (131 in) | 315 cm (124 in) | ![]() |
4 | Kento Miyaura | OP | February 22, 1999 | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | 87 kg (192 lb) | 347 cm (137 in) | 320 cm (130 in) | ![]() |
5 | Tatsunori Otsuka | OH | November 5, 2000 | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) | 80 kg (180 lb) | 340 cm (130 in) | 325 cm (128 in) | ![]() |
6 | Akihiro Yamauchi | MB | November 30, 1993 | 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) | 85 kg (187 lb) | 354 cm (139 in) | 335 cm (132 in) | ![]() |
8 | Masahiro Sekita | S | November 20, 1993 | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | 71 kg (157 lb) | 324 cm (128 in) | 305 cm (120 in) | ![]() |
10 | Kentaro Takahashi | MB | February 8, 1995 | 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) | 93 kg (205 lb) | 361 cm (142 in) | 350 cm (140 in) | ![]() |
11 | Shoma Tomita | OH | June 20, 1997 | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | 80 kg (180 lb) | 342 cm (135 in) | 320 cm (130 in) | ![]() |
12 | Ran Takahashi | OH | September 2, 2001 | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | 72 kg (159 lb) | 343 cm (135 in) | 315 cm (124 in) | ![]() |
14 | Yūki Ishikawa (c) | OH | December 11, 1995 | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | 84 kg (185 lb) | 351 cm (138 in) | 327 cm (129 in) | ![]() |
15 | Masato Kai | OH | September 25, 2003 | 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) | 79 kg (174 lb) | 352 cm (139 in) | 330 cm (130 in) | ![]() |
20 | Tomohiro Yamamoto | L | November 5, 1994 | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | 69 kg (152 lb) | 301 cm (119 in) | 299 cm (118 in) | ![]() |
Coach History
Many coaches have led the Japan men's national volleyball team over the years. Here are some of them:
Yasutaka Matsudaira (1965–1972)
Tsutomu Koyama (1973–1976)
Yūzo Nakamura (1977–1980)
Naohiro Ikeda (1980–1984)
Masaru Saito (1984–1986)
Tsutomu Koyama (1986–1988)
Masayuki Minami (1989–1990)
Seiji Oko (1991–1995)
Shinichiro Tsujiai (1996–1997)
Futoshi Teramawari (1997–2000)
Mikiyasu Tanaka (2001–2004)
Tatsuya Ueta (2005–2013)
Gary Sato (2013–2014)
Masashi Nambu (2014–2016)
Yuichi Nakagaichi (2016–2021)
Philippe Blain (2021–2024)
Team Gear and Sponsors
Kit Providers
The table below shows who has provided the team's uniforms and gear.
Period | Kit provider |
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2000– | Asics |
Sponsorship
Many companies support the Japan national volleyball team. Main sponsors include Shiseido. Other sponsors are Japanet, Molten, All Nippon Airways, Suntory, JTEKT, Nisshin Steel, Nippon Life, Marudai, Mizuno, Meiji Seika, Descente, Mikasa and Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical.
Home Stadiums
The Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium and Yoyogi National Gymnasium are important places for the Japan national team. They use these stadiums for training and for hosting their home games.
Media Coverage
In Japan, the team's matches and friendly games are shown on TV by Nippon TV, GAORA, and NHK.
Images for kids
See also
In Spanish: Selección masculina de voleibol de Japón para niños
- Volleyball
- Japan women's national volleyball team
- Japan men's national under-19 volleyball team
- Japan men's national under-21 volleyball team