Japan men's national field hockey team

Japan
Nickname(s)	Samurai Japan
Association	Japan Hockey Association
Confederation	AHF (Asia)
Head Coach	Akira Takahashi
Assistant coach(es)	Katsuya Takase
Manager	Hiroki Watanabe
Captain	Masaki Ohashi
Home	Away
FIH ranking
Current	16 1 (12 March 2024)
Olympic Games
Appearances	6 (first in 1932)
Best result	2nd (1932)
World Cup
Appearances	5 (first in 1971)
Best result	9th (1971, 2006)
Asian Games
Appearances	17 (first in 1958)
Best result	1st (2018)
Asia Cup
Appearances	10 (first in 1985)
Best result	4th (1985, 1989, 2003, 2007, 2022)
Medal record
Olympic Games
Asian Games
Asian Champions Trophy

The Japan men's national field hockey team represents Japan in men's international field hockey and is operated by the Japan Hockey Association. As of January 2019, they are ranked 18th in the world.^[1]

The team participated in the first World Cup in 1971, where they finished 9th. The team then coached by Dutchman Siegfried Aikman,^[2]^[3] won their first international tournament by claiming the gold medal in the final against Malaysia at the 2018 Asian Games.

Tournament history[edit]

Summer Olympics[edit]

1932 –
1936 – 7th place
1956 – Withdrew
1960 – 14th place
1964 – 7th place
1968 – 13th place
2020 – 11th place
2024 – Did not qualify

World Cup[edit]

1971 – 9th place
1973 – 10th place
2002 – 12th place
2006 – 9th place
2023 – 15th place

Asian Games[edit]

1958 – 5th place
1962 – 4th place
1966 –
1970 –
1974 – 4th place
1978 – 4th place
1982 – 4th place
1986 – 5th place
1990 – 6th place
1994 – 4th place
1998 – 4th place
2002 – 6th place
2006 – 4th place
2010 – 6th place
2014 – 6th place
2018 –
2022 –

Asia Cup[edit]

1985 – 4th place
1989 – 4th place
1994 – 9th place
1999 – 5th place
2003 – 4th place
2007 – 4th place
2009 – 6th place
2013 – 5th place
2017 – 5th place
2022 – 4th place

Asian Champions Trophy[edit]

Asian Champions Trophy record
Year	Host	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2011	Ordos, China	4th	6	2	1	3	11	10
2012	Doha, Qatar	6th	6	1	0	5	14	19
2013	Kakamigahara, Japan	2nd	6	3	1	2	11	9
2016	Kuantan, Malaysia	6th	6	0	0	6	14	31
2018	Muscat, Oman	4th	7	2	2	3	12	18
2021	Dhaka, Bangladesh	2nd	6	2	3	1	16	15
2023	Chennai, India	3rd	7	2	2	3	13	18
2024	Hulunbuir, China	Qualified
Total		2nd place	44	12	9	23	91	120

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup[edit]

1987 – 6th place
2016 – 7th place
2017 – 6th place
2019 – 5th place
2020 – Cancelled
2022 – 4th place
2024 – Qualified

Hockey World League[edit]

2012–13 – 12th place
2014–15 – 16th place
2016–17 – 20th place

FIH Hockey Nations Cup[edit]

2022 – 6th place

Champions Challenge[edit]

2001 – 5th place
2007 – 5th place
2011 – 7th place
2012 – 5th place
2014 – 7th place

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

The following 18 players were named on 19 December 2022 for the 2023 World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, India from 13 to 29 January 2023.^[4]^[5]

Head coach: Akira Takahashi

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	FW	Koji Yamasaki	(1996-02-27) 27 February 1996 (age 28)	122	38	UHC Hamburg
2	DF	Shota Yamada	(1994-12-21) 21 December 1994 (age 29)	126	35	Gifu Asahi Club
3	DF	Yusuke Kawamura	(2001-07-24) 24 July 2001 (age 22)	12	0	Ritsumeikan University
4	DF	Yamato Kawahara	(2004-01-21) 21 January 2004 (age 20)	5	0	Ritsumeikan University
5	MF	Seren Tanaka (Captain)	(1992-11-09) 9 November 1992 (age 31)	134	10	Gifu Asahi Club
7	FW	Kentaro Fukuda	(1995-07-27) 27 July 1995 (age 28)	83	19	Gifu Asahi Club
8	MF	Taiki Takade	(2001-11-18) 18 November 2001 (age 22)	10	1	Ritsumeikan University
10	MF	Takuma Niwa	(2000-04-27) 27 April 2000 (age 23)	17	4	Asahi University
14	DF	Raiki Fujishima	(1999-12-29) 29 December 1999 (age 24)	35	2	ALDER Hanno
15	DF	Ken Nagayoshi	(1999-10-26) 26 October 1999 (age 24)	34	7	Tenri University
16	FW	Hiro Saito	(2002-04-05) 5 April 2002 (age 22)	4	0	Fukui University of Technology
18	FW	Ryosei Kato	(1997-08-19) 19 August 1997 (age 26)	30	6	LIEBE Tochigi
19	FW	Ryoma Ooka	(2001-10-02) 2 October 2001 (age 22)	12	5	Meiji University
20	DF	Masaki Ohashi	(1993-05-08) 8 May 1993 (age 30)	125	0	LIEBE Tochigi
22	MF	Kaito Tanaka	(1995-11-01) 1 November 1995 (age 28)	70	6	Nagoya Frater
24	GK	Kisho Kuroda	(2003-11-20) 20 November 2003 (age 20)	1	0	Tenri University
29	MF	Masato Kobayashi	(2002-10-04) 4 October 2002 (age 21)	3	0	Meiji University
30	GK	Takashi Yoshikawa	(1994-11-29) 29 November 1994 (age 29)	125	0	Gifu Asahi Club

Recent call-ups[edit]

The following players have also been called up for the national team in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Takeshi Chihara	(1993-08-26) 26 August 1993 (age 30)	1	Nagoya Frater	2022 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
GK	Yosuke Morita	(1998-02-26) 26 February 1998 (age 26)	3	LIEBE Tochigi	2022 Asia Cup

DF	Yoshiki Kirishita	(1998-12-27) 27 December 1998 (age 25)	81	LIEBE Tochigi	2022 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
DF	Manabu Yamashita	(1989-02-04) 4 February 1989 (age 35)	199	Oyabe REDOX	2022 Asia Cup

MF	Hiromasa Ochiai	(1994-02-09) 9 February 1994 (age 30)	106	LIEBE Tochigi	2022 FIH Hockey Nations Cup
MF	Tsubasa Yamamizu	(1994-07-15) 15 July 1994 (age 29)	42	Nagoya Frater Hockey Team	2022 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
MF	Haruki Ochiai	(1996-04-18) 18 April 1996 (age 28)	19	Gifu Asahi Club	2022 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
MF	Ikumi Saeki	(2002-02-18) 18 February 2002 (age 22)	7	Fukui University of Technology	2022 Asia Cup

FW	Kosei Kawabe	(1999-06-20) 20 June 1999 (age 24)	19	Gifu Asahi Club	2022 FIH Hockey Nations Cup
FW	Kenji Kitazato	(1989-05-19) 19 May 1989 (age 34)	175	ALDER Hanno	2022 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
FW	Yuma Nagai	(1996-03-18) 18 March 1996 (age 28)	28	Gifu Asahi Club	2022 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
FW	Kodai Saeki	(2004-10-03) 3 October 2004 (age 19)	6	Shimane Prefecture Yokota High School	2022 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b "FIH Outdoor World Hockey Rankings". FIH. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
^ (in Dutch) http://www.nrc.nl/sport/article2162322.ece/Hockeytrainer_Tilburg_wordt_bondscoach_Japan
^ "Japanese Hockey Federation". Retrieved 21 December 2014.
^ "FIH ODISHA HOCKEY MEN'S WORLD CUP 2023 – Staffs & Members" (PDF). hockey.de (in Japanese). Japan Hockey Association. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
^ "Team Roster Japan". tms.fih.ch. 13 January 2023. p. 9. Retrieved 13 January 2023.

[FIH_World_Rankings-1] "FIH Outdoor World Hockey Rankings". FIH. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.

[2] (in Dutch) http://www.nrc.nl/sport/article2162322.ece/Hockeytrainer_Tilburg_wordt_bondscoach_Japan

[3] "Japanese Hockey Federation". Retrieved 21 December 2014.

[4] "FIH ODISHA HOCKEY MEN'S WORLD CUP 2023 – Staffs & Members" (PDF). hockey.de (in Japanese). Japan Hockey Association. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.

[5] "Team Roster Japan". tms.fih.ch. 13 January 2023. p. 9. Retrieved 13 January 2023.

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