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Japan women's national volleyball team

Women's national volleyball team representing Japan

Japan women's national volleyball team

Summary

Women's national volleyball team representing Japan

FieldValue
nameJapan
nicknameNippon (火の鳥NIPPON)
genderwomen
imageFlag of Japan.svg
federationJapan Volleyball Association
websitewww.jva.or.jp/en/senior_women/
confederationAVC
coachFerhat Akbaş
Olympic apps14
Olympic first1964
Olympic best[[File:Gold medal.svg16px]] (1964, 1976)
World Champs apps18
World Champs first1960
World Champs best[[File:Gold medal world centered-2.svg16px]] (1962, 1967, 1974)
pattern_b1_thinredsides
leftarm1000000
body1000000
rightarm1000000
shorts1000000
pattern_b2_wigan1213t
leftarm2ff0000
body2ff0000
rightarm2ff0000
shorts2ff0000
pattern_b3_jap10a
leftarm3D1001C
body3ffffff
rightarm3D1001C
shorts3FFFFFF
{{MedalCounttotalyes

|Olympic Games|2|2|2 |Nations League|0|1|0 |World Grand Prix|0|1|0 |World Championship|3|3|1 |World Cup|1|2|0 |World Grand Champions Cup|0|0|3 |Asian Games|5|4|4 |Asian Championship|5|7|7 |Asian Cup|1|1|0 |Montreux Volley Masters|1|2|2 |Universiade|2|5|4

The Japan women's national volleyball team (Hinotori Nippon, 火の鳥NIPPON), or All-Japan women's volleyball team, is currently ranked 7th in the world by FIVB. The head coach is Ferhat Akbaş.

One of their greatest successes was at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, when they defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union on the way to the gold medal.

url-status=live }}</ref> 1964 Tokyo Olympics Women's Volleyball

Japan was qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics by winning the Women's Olympic Qualifier that was held from 8 May to 16 May in Tokyo, Japan. In Athens, Greece the team took fifth place in the overall-rankings.

Finally after almost three decades of medal drought in the Olympics, Japan took home the bronze medal by defeating South Korea in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Medals

EventGoldSilverBronzeTotalTotal20272370
Olympic Games2226
Nations League0101
World Championship3317
World Grand Prix0101
World Cup1203
World Grand Champions Cup0033
Asian Games54413
Asian Championship57719
Asian Cup1102
Eastern Asian Championship60410
Universiade33410
Montreux Volley Masters1225
Asian Cup1146
Universiade25411

History

2012 London Olympics

Japan qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics as the best Asian team in the 2012 FIVB Women's World Olympic Qualification Tournament. In the 2012 Olympics, Japan had been placed on Group A with Russian Federation, Italy, Dominican Republic, the host Great Britain and Algeria. Japan finished third in the Group. In the quarter-finals, Japan faced their old Asian rival China. Saori Kimura and Yukiko Ebata each scored 33 points in this thrilling game in which China were beaten by 3–2. It was their first win over China in 11 years as far as FIVB games are concerned. On 9 August 2012, the Japanese were outplayed by the defending champions Brazil in the semi-finals. On 11 August 2012, Japan beat South Korea 3–0 in the bronze medal match. It is the first Olympics' volleyball medal for the Japanese since the 1984 Summer Olympics. On August 13, 2012, Japan Women's Team was ranked 3rd in the world behind United States women's national volleyball team and Brazil women's national volleyball team.

2020 Tokyo Olympics

Japan was the host nation for the 2020 Summer Olympics. The other teams in their group in Tokyo were Kenya, Serbia, Brazil, Korea and the Dominican Republic. Japan's opening match was on 25 July 2021 in Tokyo against Kenya. They beat Kenya in their first match in straight sets and lost against Serbia, Brazil, Korea and the Dominican Republic which caused them to miss the qualification for the quarterfinals.

Winner of 6 major world titles

YearGamesHostRunner-up2nd Runner-up
1962 #4th World ChampionshipUSSRUSSR USSRPoland Poland
1964 #Tokyo Olympic GamesJapanUSSR USSRPoland Poland
1967 #5th World ChampionshipJapanUSA USASouth Korea South Korea
1974 &7th World ChampionshipMexicoUSSR USSRSouth Korea South Korea
1976 &Montreal Olympic GamesCanadaUSSR USSRSouth Korea South Korea
1977 &2nd World CupJapanCuba CubaSouth Korea South Korea

**#, & – Twice 3 Straight Major titles in 1960s and 1970s **

(World Women's Volleyball Championship, World Cup, Olympic Games)

Results

International

Olympic Games

Gold Silver Bronze Fourth place

Olympic Games recordYearRoundPositionGPMWMLSWSLTotal2 titles14/16764333145113
Japan 1964Round robinGold550151
Mexico 1968Round robinSilver761193
GER 1972FinalSilver541143
CAN 1976FinalGold550150
URS 1980Did not participate
USA 1984SemifinalsBronze541125
KOR 1988SemifinalsFourth place5231012
ESP 1992Quarterfinals5th place532109
USA 1996Group stage9th place514312
AUS 2000Did not qualify
GRE 2004Quarterfinals5th place624613
CHN 2008Quarterfinals5th place624714
GBR 2012SemifinalsBronze8531711
BRA 2016Quarterfinals5th place624712
Japan 2020Group stage10th place514612
FRA 2024Group stage9th place31246

World Championship

Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place

World Championship recordYearRoundPositionGPMWMLSWSLTotal3 titles18/2215210646356186
URS 1952Did not compete
FRA 1956
BRA 1960Final placesRunners-up761195
URS 1962Final placesChampions990271
JPN 1967Round robinChampions33090
BUL 1970Final placesRunners-up981255
MEX 1974Final placesChampions11110332
URS 1978FinalRunners-up9722112
PER 1982SemifinalsFourth place963209
TCH 19865th–8th places7th place8441314
CHN 19905th–8th places8th place7341113
BRA 19945th–8th places7th place7431411
JPN 19985th–8th places8th place8441412
GER 2002First round13th place523810
JPN 20065th–8th places6th place11742318
JPN 2010SemifinalsThird place11832817
ITA 2014Second round7th place9542117
JPN 2018Third round6th place12752818
NED POL 2022Quarterfinals5th place10732411
THA 2025SemifinalsFourth place7521811
CANUSA 2027To be determined
PHI 2029

World Cup

World Grand Champions Cup

  • 1993 – 4th place
  • 1997 – 5th place
  • 2001Bronze Medal
  • 2005 – 5th place
  • 2009 – 4th place
  • 2013Bronze Medal
  • 2017 – 5th place

FIVB World Grand Prix

FIVB Nations League

Montreux Volley Masters

  • 1989 – [[File:Med 3.png]] Bronze Medal
  • 2001 – [[File:Med 3.png]] Bronze Medal
  • 2005 – 4th place
  • 2009 – 7th place
  • 2010 – 7th place
  • 2011 – [[File:Med 1.png]] Gold Medal
  • 2013 – 5th place
  • 2014 – 6th place
  • 2015 – [[File:Med 2.png]] Silver Medal
  • 2019 – [[File:Med 2.png]] Silver Medal

Continental

Asian Games

  • 1962 – [[File:Asian Games Gold medal blank.svg|16px]] Gold Medal
  • 1966 – [[File:Asian Games Gold medal blank.svg|16px]] Gold Medal
  • 1970 – [[File:Asian Games Gold medal blank.svg|16px]] Gold Medal
  • 1974 – [[File:Asian Games Gold medal blank.svg|16px]] Gold Medal
  • 1978 – [[File:Asian Games Gold medal blank.svg|16px]] Gold Medal
  • 1982 – [[File:Asian Games Silver medal blank.svg|16px]] Silver Medal
  • 1986 – [[File:Asian Games Silver medal blank.svg|16px]] Silver Medal
  • 1990 – [[File:Asian Games Bronze medal blank.svg|16px]] Bronze Medal
  • 1994 – [[File:Asian Games Bronze medal blank.svg|16px]] Bronze Medal
  • 1998 – [[File:Asian Games Bronze medal blank.svg|16px]] Bronze Medal
  • 2002 – [[File:Asian Games Bronze medal blank.svg|16px]] Bronze Medal
  • 2006 – [[File:Asian Games Silver medal blank.svg|16px]] Silver Medal
  • 2010 – 6th place
  • 2014 – 4th place
  • 2018 – 4th place
  • 2022 – [[File:Asian Games Silver medal blank.svg|16px]] Silver Medal

Asian Championship

  • 1975Gold Medal
  • 1979Silver Medal
  • 1983Gold Medal
  • 1987Silver Medal
  • 1989Bronze Medal
  • 1991Silver Medal
  • 1993Silver Medal
  • 1995Bronze Medal
  • 1997Bronze Medal
  • 1999Bronze Medal
  • 2001 – 4th place
  • 2003Silver Medal
  • 2005Bronze Medal
  • 2007Gold Medal
  • 2009Bronze Medal
  • 2011Silver Medal
  • 2013Silver Medal
  • 2015 – 6th place
  • 2017Gold Medal
  • 2019Gold Medal
  • 2021Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
  • 2023Bronze Medal

Asian Cup

Head-to-head record

This page shows Japan women's national volleyball team's Head-to-head record at the Volleyball at the Summer Olympics, FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League.

OpponentGPMWMLTotal1649470
110
220
422
14113
440
110
431
1358
110
211
220
862
101
110
651
110
110
110
725
330
110
725
110
541
954
110
523
734
17125
633
110
550
743
110
1358
110

Team

Current squad

The following is the Japan roster in the 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League :Head coach: TUR Ferhat Akbaş

No.NameDate of birthPositionHeight
2Ayaka ArakiMB185 cm
3Haruyo ShimamuraMB182 cm
4Mayu Ishikawa (c)OH174 cm
6Nanami SekiS171 cm
8Manami KojimaL158 cm
11Nichika YamadaMB184 cm
12Satomi FukudomeL162 cm
13Yukiko WadaOH174 cm
15Airi MiyabeMB181 cm
19Miiku IwasawaOH162 cm
22Tsukasa NakagawaS159 cm
26Yoshino SatoOH178 cm
30Ayane KitamadoOH183 cm
33Miku AkimotoOH185 cm

Former squads

  • 1994 squad: Head coach: Tadayoshi Yokota
No.NameDate of birthHeight1994 club
1Motoko Obayashi15.06.67182 cmHitachi
2Aki Nagatomi17.07.69173 cmHitachi
3Chie Natori09.08.69176 cmDaiei
4Mika Yamauchi07.10.69182 cmDaiei
6Tomoko Yoshihara04.02.70179 cmHitachi
7Kiyoko Fukuda04.08.70178 cmHitachi
8Miho Murata03.09.70178 cmHitachi
9Asako Tajimi26.02.72179 cmHitachi
12Yumi Natta12.07.69161 cmDaiei
13Naomi Eto12.07.72186 cmHitachi
16Maki Fujiyoshi24.05.74178 cmHitachi
17Miyuki Shimasaki13.10.74178 cmHitachi
5Kazuyo Matsukawa07.01.70181 cmDaiei
10Kumiko Sakamoto13.12.72177 cmDaiei
14Minako Onuki15.10.72173 cmNEC
15Miho Ota27.10.73179 cmHitachi
18Eiko Yasui08.05.71164 cmKanagawa
  • 1996 Olympic Games — 9th place (tied)
  • :Kaiyo Hoshini, Aki Nagatomi, Kazumi Nakamura, Chieko Nakanishi, Motoko Obayashi, Ikumi Ogake, Mika Saiki, Kiyomi Sakamoto, Asako Tajimi, Chiho Torii, Mika Yamauchi, and Tomoko Yoshihara. Head coach: Kuniaki Yoshida.
  • 1999 FIVB World Cup6th place
  • :Naomi Eto, Megumi Itabashi, Chikako Kumamae, Hitomi Mitsunaga, Junko Moriyama, Ikumi Ogake, Minako Onuki, Yuka Sakurai, Miki Sasaki, Hiromi Suzuki, Asako Tajimi, and Hiroko Tsukumo. Head coach: Nobushika Kuzuwa.
  • 2002 World Championship14th place
  • :Makiko Horai, Sachiko Kodama, Chikako Kumamae, Hisako Mukai, Kanako Naito, Minako Onuki, Ai Otomo, Kana Oyama, Yuko Sano, Sachiko Sugiyama, Miyuki Takahashi, and Shinako Tanaka. Head coach: Masahiro Yoshikawa.
  • 2003 FIVB World Cup5th place
  • :Tomoko Yoshihara, Chie Tsuji, Miki Sasaki, Kanako Omura, Yoshie Takeshita, Miyuki Takahashi, Makiko Horai, Yuko Sano, Sachiko Sugiyama, Saori Kimura, Kana Oyama, and Megumi Kurihara. Head coach: Shoichi Yanagimoto.
  • 2004 Olympic Qualification Tournament1st place (qualified)
  • :Tomoko Yoshihara, Chie Tsuji, Ikumi Narita, Miki Sasaki, Kanako Omura, Yoshie Takeshita, Miyuki Takahashi, Sachiko Sugiyama, Ai Otomo, Kana Oyama, Megumi Kurihara, and Saori Kimura. Head coach: Shoichi Yanagimoto.
  • 2004 Olympic Games — 5th place (tied)
  • :Tomoko Yoshihara, Chie Tsuji, Ikumi Narita, Miki Sasaki, Kanako Omura, Yoshie Takeshita, Miyuki Takahashi, Sachiko Sugiyama, Ai Otomo, Kana Oyama, Megumi Kurihara, and Saori Kimura. Head coach: Shoichi Yanagimoto.
  • 2005 FIVB World Grand Prix — 5th place
  • :Erika Araki, Makiko Horai, Megumi Itabashi, Ayako Onuma, Ai Otomo, Yuka Sakurai, Miki Shimada, Kaoru Sugayama, Sachiko Sugiyama, Yoshie Takeshita, Miyuki Takahashi, and Chie Yoshizawa. Head coach: Shoichi Yanagimoto.
  • 2008 Olympic Qualification Tournament3rd place (qualified)
  • :Erika Araki, Miyuki Kano, Yuki Kawai, Saori Kimura, Megumi Kurihara, Kanako Omura, Yuka Sakurai, Yuko Sano, Miyuki Takahashi, Sachiko Sugiyama, Yoshie Takeshita, and Asako Tajimi. Head coach: Shoichi Yanagimoto.
  • 2008 Olympic Games — 5th place (tied)
  • :Erika Araki, Miyuki Kano, Yuki Kawai, Saori Kimura, Megumi Kurihara, Kanako Omura, Yuka Sakurai, Yuko Sano, Miyuki Takahashi, Sachiko Sugiyama, Yoshie Takeshita, and Asako Tajimi. Head coach: Shoichi Yanagimoto.
  • 2010 World Championship3rd place
  • :Megumi Kurihara, Hitomi Nakamichi, Yoshie Takeshita, Kaori Inoue, Ai Yamamoto, Yuko Sano, Mai Yamaguchi, Mizuho Ishida, Erika Araki, Saori Kimura, Yukiko Ebata, Saori Sakoda, Akiko Ino, and Kanari Hamaguchi, Head coach: Masayoshi Manabe.
  • 2012 Olympic Games — Bronze Medal
  • :Erika Araki (c), Saori Kimura, Yoshie Takeshita, Yukiko Ebata, Kaori Inoue, Ai Otomo, Yuko Sano, Mai Yamaguchi, Risa Shinnabe, Saori Sakoda, Maiko Kano, and Hitomi Nakamichi, Head coach: Masayoshi Manabe.
  • 2014 World Championship
  • :Saori Kimura (c), Miyu Nagaoka, Hitomi Nakamichi, Arisa Takada, Arisa Satō, Mai Yamaguchi, Mizuho Ishida, Yuki Ishii, Risa Shinnabe, Yukiko Ebata, Saori Sakoda, Kana Ōno, Sayaka Tsutsui, and Haruka Miyashita, Head coach: Masayoshi Manabe.
  • 2016 Olympic Games — 5th place
  • :Saori Kimura (c), Miyu Nagaoka, Arisa Satō, Mai Yamaguchi, Yuki Ishii, Saori Sakoda, Haruka Miyashita, Kanami Tashiro, Erika Araki, Yurie Nabeya, Haruyo Shimamura and Kotoki Zayasu, Head coach: Masayoshi Manabe.
  • 2018 World Championship6th Place
  • :Nana Iwasaka (c), Koyomi Tominaga, Kanami Tashiro, Erika Araki, Mai Okumura, Haruyo Shimamura, Risa Shinnabe, Yuki Ishii, Sarina Koga, Ai Kurogo, Mami Uchiseto, Miyu Nagaoka, Kotoe Inoue, Mako Kobata, Head coach: Kumi Nakada.
  • 2020 Summer Olympics — 10th Place
  • :Erika Araki (c), Ai Kurogo, Sarina Koga, Kanami Tashiro, Mayu Ishikawa, Haruyo Shimamura, Mako Kobata, Yuki Ishii, Mai Okumura, Aki Momii, Kotona Hayashi and Nichika Yamada, Head coach: Kumi Nakada
  • 2022 World Championship5th Place
  • :Sarina Koga (c), Mami Uchiseto, Mayu Ishikawa, Haruyo Shimamura, Arisa Inoue, Aki Momii, Kotona Hayashi, Nichika Yamada, Satomi Fukudome, Mami Yokota, Airi Miyabe, Nanami Seki, Ameze Miyabe and Yoshino Sato, Head coach: Masayoshi Manabe.
  • 2024 Summer Olympics — 9th Place
  • :Sarina Koga (c), Koyomi Iwasaki, Kotona Hayashi, Mayu Ishikawa, Nanami Seki, Manami Kojima, Arisa Inoue, Nichika Yamada, Satomi Fukudome, Airi Miyabe, Ayaka Araki and Yukiko Wada, Head coach: Masayoshi Manabe
  • 2025 World Championship4th Place
  • :Mayu Ishikawa (c), Ayaka Araki, Haruyo Shimamura, Nanami Seki, Manami Kojima, Nichika Yamada, Satomi Fukudome, Yukiko Wada, Airi Miyabe, Miiku Iwasawa, Tsukasa Nakagawa, Yoshino Sato, Ayane Kitamado and Miku Akimoto, Head coach: Ferhat Akbaş.

Coaches history

  • JPN Tadayoshi Yokota
  • JPN Kuniaki Yoshida
  • JPN Nobushika Kuzuwa
  • JPN Masahiro Yoshikawa
  • JPN Shoichi Yanagimoto (2003–2008)
  • JPN Masayoshi Manabe (2008–2016; 2021–2024)
  • JPN Kumi Nakada (2016–2021)
  • TUR Ferhat Akbaş (2025–present)

References

References

  1. "Nickname:HINOTORI NIPPON". jva.or.jp.
  2. "JVA".
  3. "FIVB Senior World Ranking - Women". FIVB.
  4. "Remembering Volleyball's 'Oriental Witches' - The New York Times".
  5. (August 2012). "LONDON 2012 VOLLEYBALL, VOLLEYBALL WOMEN". olympic.org.
  6. (August 8, 2012). "Brazil, Japan reach semifinals". ESPN.com.
  7. (August 10, 2012). "Japan humbled by Brazil in women's volleyball semifinals, to play S. Korea for bronze". The Japan Times.
  8. (August 12, 2012). "Japan beats South Korea for historic volleyball bronze". The Japan Times.
  9. (26 June 2021). "Kenya Unveil Roster For The Tokyo Olympics".
  10. (26 June 2021). "Kenya Unveil Roster For The Tokyo Olympics".
  11. "Malkia Strikers go down to Japan in Olympics opener".
  12. NEWS, KYODO. "Olympics: Dominican Republic ends Japan women's volleyball quest".
  13. "Japan VNL 2025".
  14. "New women's volleyball coach Nakada ready for challenge". japantimes.co.jp.
  15. "女子バレー 中田久美監督が退任「不本意な結果、大変申し訳ない」後任は未定". yahoo.co.jp.
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