The Japan men's national volleyball team (), also referred to as Ryujin Nippon (Japanese: é¾Âç¥ÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂã³; Lit. trans: Dragon God of Japan) or simply Nippon, represents Japan in international volleyball competitions and friendly matches, governed by Japan Volleyball Association. As of September 2024, the team is ranked sixth in the FIVB Senior World Rankings, with their peak coming at second place prior to the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Japan first won a bronze medal at the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games, followed by silver at Mexico 1968 and a gold at Munich 1972. In the years that followed, Japan has been unsuccessful and missed three successive Olympic Games before returning at Beijing 2008, where they failed to win a match. Japan then failed to qualify for London 2012 and Rio 2016. At the FIVB World Championship, Japan has won bronze medals in 1970 and 1974, as well as silver medals at the 1969 and 1977 FIVB World Cup.
Despite their past struggles in the world leagues, Japan has been recognized as one of the best volleyball teams in Asia, and Japan's SV.League is typically regarded as the most prestigious volleyball league on the continent. The team has won the Asian Championships nine times and the Asian Games eight times.
At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Japan advanced to the Quarterfinals round and eventually finished in seventh place, its best result since the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. As of the last 3 years, the team has been successful in the world leagues as they have achieved both bronze and silver medals at the 2023 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League and the 2024 edition, respectively. These results have been the nation's best since the tournament's creation in 2017.
Medals
Competitive records
Olympic Games
Champions Runners-up 3rd place 4th place
World Championship
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
World Cup
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
World Grand Champions Cup
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
World League
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Nations League
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Asian Championship
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Asian Games
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Asian Cup
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Goodwill Games
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Results and fixtures
Team
Current squad
The following is the Japanese wide roster for the 2025 World Championship. <br />
Head coach: Laurent Tillie
Former squads
- 2011 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster
- :Daisuke Usami (c), Yuta Abe, , Shogo Okamoto, , Takahiro Yamamoto, Yuya Ageba, Yusuke Ishijima, Yu Koshikawa, Yuta Yoneyama, Seima Kanda, Tatsuya Fukuzawa, Kunihiro Shimizu, , Daisuke Yako, Kota Yamamura, Takashi Dekita, Yamato Fushimi, Osamu Tanabe, Daisuke Sakai, Takeshi Nagano, Takeshi Kitajima, Kazuyoshi Yokota, and Masashi Kuriyama. Head Coach: Tatsuya Ueta.
- 2012 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster
- :Daisuke Sakai, Yuta Abe, Takeshi Nagano, Yusuke Matsuta, Daisuke Usami, Yoshifumi Suzuki, Takahiro Yamamoto, Yuya Ageba, Takaaki Tomimatsu, Osamu Tanabe, Yoshihiko Matsumoto, Kota Yamamura, Tatsuya Fukuzawa, Kunihiro Shimizu, Daisuke Yako, Yusuke Ishijima, Yu Koshikawa, Yuta Yoneyama, Akira Koshiya, Ayumu Shinoda, Shigeru Kondoh, , Yuji Suzuki, , Dai Tezuka, Takashi Dekita and Kazuyoshi Yokota. Head Coach: Tatsuya Ueta.
- 2013 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster
- :Yuta Abe, Shigeru Kondoh, Takahisa Otake, , Shogo Okamoto, , Akihiro Fukatsu, Hideomi Fukatsu, Issei Maeda, Yusuke Ishijima, Yu Koshikawa, Yuta Yoneyama, Yasuyuki Shibakoya, Yuji Suzuki, Tatsuya Fukuzawa, Yuhei Tsukazaki, Kunihiro Shimizu, , Takuya Takamatsu, Masashi Kuriyama, Daisuke Yako, Dai Tezuka, Shunsuke Chijiki, Yuta Matsuoka, Yuki Hosokawa, Sogo Watanabe, Hidetomo Hoshino, Takashi Dekita, Shuzo Yamada, Masahiro Yanagida, Kota Yamamura, Yoshihiko Matsumoto, Yusuke Matsuta, Yoshifumi Suzuki, Kenji Shirasawa, Takaaki Tomimatsu, Kazuyoshi Yokota, , , Tatsuya Shiota, , Haku Ri, Yamato Fushimi, Takeshi Nagano, Koichiro Koga, Ken Takahashi and Taichiro Koga. Head Coach: Sato Gary.
- 2014 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster
- :Shinji Takahashi, Shohei Uchiyama, Hideomi Fukatsu, Sho Sagawa, Yu Koshikawa, Yuta Yoneyama, Tatsuya Fukuzawa, Kunihiro Shimizu, Masashi Kuriyama, Ryusuke Tsubakiyama, Daisuke Yako, Dai Tezuka, Shunsuke Chijiki, Naoya Shiraiwa, Sogo Watanabe, Masahiro Yanagida, Kentaro Takahashi, YÃ
«ki Ishikawa, Takaaki Tomimatsu, , Hideoki Eto, Haku Ri, Takashi Dekita, Yamato Fushimi, Kentaro Hoshiya, Akihiro Yamauchi, Koichiro Koga, Takeshi Nagano and Satoshi Ide. Head coach: Masashi Nambu.
- 2015 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster
- :Yuta Abe, Shunsuke Inoue, Akihiro Fukatsu, Hideomi Fukatsu, Yuta Yoneyama, Kunihiro Shimizu (c), Masashi Kuriyama, Daisuke Yako, Shunsuke Chijiki, Yuta Matsuoka, Sogo Watanabe, Hiroaki Asano, Masahiro Yanagida, Kenya Fujinaka, Kentaro Takahashi, YÃ
«ki Ishikawa, Yuki Suzuki, Yoshifumi Suzuki, Takaaki Tomimatsu, Takashi Dekita, Kentaro Hoshiya, Yuichiro Komiya, Akihiro Yamauchi, Yasunari Kodama, Issei Otake, Taishi Onodera, Daisuke Sakai, Koichiro Koga, Takeshi Nagano and Taiki Tsuruda. Head coach: Masashi Nambu.
- 2016 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster
- :Shinji Takahashi, Akihiro Fukatsu, Hideomi Fukatsu, Masahiro Sekita, Yu Koshikawa, Yuta Yoneyama, Tatsuya Fukuzawa, Kunihiro Shimizu (c), Masashi Kuriyama, Daisuke Yako, Naoya Shiraiwa, Hidetomo Hoshino, Hiroaki Asano, Masahiro Yanagida, Kentaro Takahashi, Tsubasa Hisahara, YÃ
«ki Ishikawa, Yoshifumi Suzuki, Takaaki Tomimatsu, Ryota Denda, Takashi Dekita, Akihiro Yamauchi, Yasunari Kodama, Taishi Onodera, Daisuke Sakai, Koichiro Koga, Takeshi Nagano and Shunsuke Watanabe. Head coach: Masashi Nambu.
- 2017 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster
- :Akihiro Fukatsu, Hideomi Fukatsu (c), Naonobu Fujii, Masahiro Sekita, Yuta Yoneyama, Yuji Suzuki, Kunihiro Shimizu, Takuya Takamatsu, Masashi Kuriyama, Hiroaki Asano, Masahiro Yanagida, Shuzo Yamada, Naoya Takano, Takeshi Ogawa, Tsubasa Hisahara, Issei Otake, YÃ
«ki Ishikawa, Yuki Suzuki, Yudai Arai, Takaaki Tomimatsu, Haku Ri, Ryota Denda, Takashi Dekita, Akihiro Yamauchi, Kentaro Takahashi, Taishi Onodera, Taichiro Koga, Taiki Tsuruda, Satoshi Ide and Shohei Yamamoto. Head coach: Yuichi Nakagaichi.
- 2018 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster
- :Hideomi Fukatsu, Naonobu Fujii, Masahiro Sekita, Masaki Oya, Motoki Eiro, Tatsuya Fukuzawa, Takuya Takamatsu, Shunsuke Chijiki, Hiroaki Asano, Masahiro Yanagida (c), Naoya Takano, Tsubasa Hisahara, YÃ
«ki Ishikawa, Hiroki Ozawa, Jin Tsuzuki, Kunihiro Shimizu, Takashi Dekita, Takeshi Ogawa, Issei Otake, Yudai Arai, Yuji Nishida, Haku Ri, Ryota Denda, Yamato Fushimi, Akihiro Yamauchi, Kentaro Takahashi, Taishi Onodera, Hirohito Kashimura, Shinichiro Sato, Taichiro Koga, Satoshi Ide, Ryuta Homma, Wataru Inoue and Tomohiro Horie. Head coach: Yuichi Nakagaichi.
- 2019 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster
- :Akihiro Fukatsu, Hideomi Fukatsu, Naonobu Fujii, Masahiro Sekita, Tatsuya Fukuzawa, Masashi Kuriyama, Hiroaki Asano, Naoya Takano, Tsubasa Hisahara, YÃ
«ki Ishikawa, Yuki Higuchi, Jin Tsuzuki, Kunihiro Shimizu, Issei Otake, YÃ
«ji Nishida, Haku Ri, Takashi Dekita, Akihiro Yamauchi, Kentaro Takahashi, Taishi Onodera, Taichiro Koga, Masahiro Yanagida (c), Satoshi Ide and Tomohiro Yamamoto. Head coach: Yuichi Nakagaichi.
- 2020 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster
- :Kunihiro Shimizu, Taishi Onodera, Naonobu Fujii, Issei Otake, Tatsuya Fukuzawa, Akihiro Yamauchi, Tsubasa Hisahara, Masahiro Yanagida (c), Hideomi Fukatsu, Taichiro Koga, YÃ
«ji Nishida, Masahiro Sekita, Kenya Fujinaka, YÃ
«ki Ishikawa, Haku Lee, Kentaro Takahashi, Masaki Oya, Tomohiro Yamamoto, Yudai Arai, Ryuta Homma, Yutaro Takemoto, Kenta Takanashi, Yuki Higuchi, Shoma Tomita, Shunichiro Sato, Tatsunori Otsuka and Ran Takahashi. Head coach: Yuichi Nakagaichi.
- 2021 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster
- :Kunihiro Shimizu, Taishi Onodera, Naonobu Fujii, Issei Otake, Tatsuya Fukuzawa, Akihiro Yamauchi, Masahiro Yanagida, Hideomi Fukatsu, Taichiro Koga, YÃ
«ji Nishida, Masahiro Sekita, Masaki Oya, YÃ
«ki Ishikawa (c), Haku Lee, Kentaro Takahashi, Kenta Takanashi, Shoma Tomita, Tatsunori Otsuka, Tomohiro Yamamoto, Ran Takahashi, Taichi Fukuyama, Shunichiro Sato, Tomohiro Ogawa and Kento Miyaura. Head coach: Yuichi Nakagaichi.
- 2022 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster
- :Yuji Nishida, Taishi Onodera, Akihiro Fukatsu, Issei Otake, Tatsunori Otsuka, Akihiro Yamauchi, Kenta Takanashi, Masahiro Sekita, Masaki Oya, Kentaro Takahashi, Shoma Tomita, Ran Takahashi, Tomohiro Ogawa, YÃ
«ki Ishikawa (c), Haku Lee, Kento Miyaura, Akito Yamazaki, Kenyu Nakamoto, Takahiro Shin, Tomohiro Yamamoto, Motoki Eiro, Yuki Higuchi, Shunichiro Sato, Kazuyuki Takahashi, Shunsuke Nakamura, Go Murayama, Kenta Koga, Hiroki Ito, Soshi Fujinaka, Larry Ebade-Dan, Yuga Tarumi, Keitaro Nishikawa, Hiroaki Maki, Masato Kai, Kento Asano and Yuichiro Komiya. Head coach: Philippe Blain.
- 2023 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster
- :Yuji Nishida, Taishi Onodera, Akihiro Fukatsu, Kento Miyaura, Tatsunori Otsuka, Akihiro Yamauchi, Kenta Takanashi, Masahiro Sekita, Masaki Oya, Kentaro Takahashi, Shoma Tomita, Ran Takahashi, Tomohiro Ogawa, YÃ
«ki Ishikawa (c), Masahiro Yanagida, Go Murayama, Hiroki Ozawa, Hiroto Nishiyama, Satoshi Tsuiki, Tomohiro Yamamoto, Motoki Eiro, Kenya Fujinaka, Shunichiro Sato, Kazuyuki Takahashi, Takahiro NambaAkito Yamazaki, Soshi Fujinaka, Larry Ebade-Dan, Ryu Yamamoto, Masato Kai, Keihan Takahashi, Kento Asano, Kazuma Sonae, Yudai Arai, Hirohito Kashimura, Hiromasa Miwa, Ryo Shimokawa, Akira Sawada. Head coach: Philippe Blain.
- 2024 Japan Men's national volleyball team roster
- :Yuji Nishida, Taishi Onodera, Akihiro Fukatsu, Kento Miyaura, Tatsunori Otsuka, Akihiro Yamauchi, Kenta Takanashi, Masahiro Sekita, Masaki Oya, Kentaro Takahashi, Shoma Tomita, Ran Takahashi, Tomohiro Ogawa, YÃ
«ki Ishikawa (c), Masato Kai, Hiroto Nishiyama, Tomohiro Yamamoto, Larry Evbade-Dan. Head coach: Philippe Blain.
Coach history
List from 1965 until now:
Kit providers
The table below shows the history of kit providers for the Japan national volleyball team.
Sponsorship
Primary sponsors include: main sponsors like Shiseido other sponsors: Japanet, Molten, All Nippon Airways, Suntory, JTEKT, Nisshin Steel, Nippon Life, Marudai, Mizuno, Meiji Seika, Descente, Mikasa and Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical.
Stadium
Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium and Yoyogi National Gymnasium Japan national team training and hosting venues.
Media
Japan's matches and friendlies are currently televised by Nippon TV, GAORA and NHK.
Head-to-head record
This page shows Japan men's national volleyball team's Head-to-head record at the Volleyball at the Summer Olympics, FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League.
See also
References
External links