Japan men's national field hockey team

Japan
Nickname(s)	Samurai Japan
Association	Japan Hockey Association
Confederation	AHF (Asia)
Head Coach	Yoshihiro Anai
Assistant coach(es)	Yosuke Matsumura
Captain	Raiki Fujishima
Home	Away
FIH ranking
Current	18 (5 November 2025)
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	11 (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

Summer Olympics

1932 –
1936 – 7th place
1956 – Withdrew
1960 – 14th place
1964 – 7th place
1968 – 13th place
2020 – 11th place

World Cup

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

Asian Games

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

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
2025 – 5th place

Asian Champions Trophy

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	5th	6	0	2	4	15	23
Total		2nd place	50	12	11	27	106	143

FIH Hockey Nations Cup

FIH Hockey Nations Cup record
Year	Host	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2022	Potchefstroom, South Africa	6th	5	2	1	2	10	11
2023–24	Gniezno, Poland	did not qualify
2024–25	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	7th	5	1	0	4	10	14
Total		6th place	10	3	1	6	20	25

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

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

Hockey World League

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

Champions Challenge

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

Players

Current squad

On 25 July 2025, the following 18 players were called up for the 2025 Asia Cup in Rajgir, India from 29 August to 7 September 2025.^[4]

Caps updated as of 21 June 2025, after the match against South Africa.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club
30	GK	Takashi Yoshikawa	(1994-11-29) 29 November 1994 (age 31)	156	Gifu Asahi Blue Devils
31	GK	Kisho Kuroda	(2003-11-20) 20 November 2003 (age 22)	7	Tenri University

2	DF	Shota Yamada	(1994-12-21) 21 December 1994 (age 30)	163	Gifu Asahi Blue Devils
4	DF	Yamato Kawahara	(2004-01-21) 21 January 2004 (age 21)	47	Ritsumeikan University
13	DF	Manabu Yamashita	(1989-02-04) 4 February 1989 (age 36)	235	Freaks Tokyo
15	DF	Ken Nagayoshi	(1999-10-26) 26 October 1999 (age 26)	70	LIEBE Tochigi
23	DF	Yusuke Kawamura	(2001-07-24) 24 July 2001 (age 24)	40	LIEBE Tochigi
38	DF	Hyota Yamada	(2003-01-30) 30 January 2003 (age 22)	5	Asahi University

3	MF	Yuto Higuchi	(2005-09-30) 30 September 2005 (age 20)	6	Ritsumeikan University
5	MF	Seren Tanaka	(1992-11-09) 9 November 1992 (age 33)	176	Gifu Asahi Blue Devils
14	MF	Raiki Fujishima (Captain)	(1999-12-29) 29 December 1999 (age 25)	72	ALDER Hanno
22	MF	Kaito Tanaka	(1995-11-01) 1 November 1995 (age 30)	98	Gifu Asahi Blue Devils
34	MF	Keita Watanabe	(2002-11-20) 20 November 2002 (age 23)	12	BlueSticks SHIGA

1	FW	Koji Yamasaki	(1996-02-27) 27 February 1996 (age 29)	137	BlueSticks SHIGA
6	FW	Naru Kimura	(2005-12-27) 27 December 2005 (age 19)	13	Ritsumeikan University
11	FW	Kazumasa Matsumoto	(2000-06-21) 21 June 2000 (age 25)	28	Miyazaki Perfecture
24	FW	Kosei Kawabe	(1999-06-20) 20 June 1999 (age 26)	51	Gifu Asahi Blue Devils
35	FW	Ryosuke Shinohara	(2005-10-18) 18 October 2005 (age 20)	5	Yamanashi Gakuin University

Recent call-ups

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	Takumi Kitagawa	(1999-10-07) 7 October 1999 (age 26)	27	Gifu Asahi Club	2024 Asian Champions Trophy
GK	Yosei Oba	(2001-09-15) 15 September 2001 (age 24)	7	Freaks Tokyo	2024 Asian Champions Trophy

DF	Jun Watanabe	(2003-05-17) 17 May 2003 (age 22)	5	Tenri University	2024–25 FIH Hockey Nations Cup

MF	Yuma Nagai	(1996-03-18) 18 March 1996 (age 29)	59	Gifu Asahi Club	2024 Asian Champions Trophy
MF	Yuito Matsuzaki	(2003-04-20) 20 April 2003 (age 22)	7	Tenri University	2024 Asian Champions Trophy

FW	Ryoma Ooka	(2001-10-02) 2 October 2001 (age 24)	47	Meiji University	2024–25 FIH Hockey Nations Cup
FW	Hiro Saito	(2002-04-05) 5 April 2002 (age 23)	25	Fukui University of Technology	2024–25 FIH Hockey Nations Cup
FW	Tsubasa Tanaka	(2003-10-10) 10 October 2003 (age 22)	13	Tenri University	2024–25 FIH Hockey Nations Cup
FW	Yuki Chiba	(2001-11-13) 13 November 2001 (age 24)	9	LIEBE Tochigi	2024 Asian Champions Trophy
FW	Ren Kashiwagi	(2001-11-26) 26 November 2001 (age 24)	7	Gifu Asahi Club	2024 Asian Champions Trophy

References

^ ^a ^b "FIH Outdoor World Hockey Rankings". FIH. 5 November 2025. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
^ (in Dutch) http://www.nrc.nl/sport/article2162322.ece/Hockeytrainer_Tilburg_wordt_bondscoach_Japan
^ "Japanese Hockey Federation". Retrieved 21 December 2014.
^ "Samurai Japan (Japan Men's National Hockey Team) announces roster for the 12th AHF Hero Asia Cup (2025/Rajgir)" (PDF). en.hockey.or.jp. Japan Hockey Association. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 24 August 2025.

External links

[FIH_World_Rankings-1] "FIH Outdoor World Hockey Rankings". FIH. 5 November 2025. Retrieved 5 November 2025.

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

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

[4] "Samurai Japan (Japan Men's National Hockey Team) announces roster for the 12th AHF Hero Asia Cup (2025/Rajgir)" (PDF). en.hockey.or.jp. Japan Hockey Association. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 24 August 2025.

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v t e Men's national field hockey teams of Asia (AHF)
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