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Japan women's national volleyball team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Japan
Nickname(s)Nippon (火の鳥NIPPON)[1]
AssociationJapan Volleyball Association[2]
ConfederationAVC
Head coachTurkey Ferhat Akbaş
FIVB ranking 5 Steady (24 May 2026)[3]
Uniforms
Home
Away
Third
Summer Olympics
Appearances14 (First in 1964)
Best result (1964, 1976)
World Championship
Appearances18 (First in 1960)
Best result (1962, 1967, 1974)
www.jva.or.jp/en/senior_women/ (in English)
Honours
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
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
Total 18 23 19
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1964 TokyoTeam
Gold medal – first place1976 MontrealTeam
Silver medal – second place1968 Mexico CityTeam
Silver medal – second place1972 MunichTeam
Bronze medal – third place1984 Los AngelesTeam
Bronze medal – third place2012 LondonTeam
World Championship
Gold medal – first place1962 Soviet Union
Gold medal – first place1967 Japan
Gold medal – first place1974 Mexico
Silver medal – second place1960 Brazil
Silver medal – second place1970 Bulgaria
Silver medal – second place1978 Soviet Union
Bronze medal – third place2010 Japan
World Cup
Gold medal – first place1977 Japan
Silver medal – second place1973 Japan
Silver medal – second place1981 Japan
World Grand Champions Cup
Bronze medal – third place2001 Japan
Bronze medal – third place2013 Japan
World Grand Prix
Silver medal – second place2014 Japan
FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League
Silver medal – second place2024 BangkokTeam
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place1962 JakartaTeam
Gold medal – first place1966 BangkokTeam
Gold medal – first place1970 BangkokTeam
Gold medal – first place1974 TehranTeam
Gold medal – first place1978 BangkokTeam
Silver medal – second place1982 New DelhiTeam
Silver medal – second place1986 SeoulTeam
Silver medal – second place2006 DohaTeam
Silver medal – second place2022 HangzhouTeam
Bronze medal – third place1990 BeijingTeam
Bronze medal – third place1994 HiroshimaTeam
Bronze medal – third place1998 BangkokTeam
Bronze medal – third place2002 BusanTeam
Asian Championship
Gold medal – first place1975 Melbourne
Gold medal – first place1983 Fukuoka
Gold medal – first place2007 Suphanburi
Gold medal – first place2017 Manila
Gold medal – first place2019 Seoul
Silver medal – second place1979 Hong Kong
Silver medal – second place1987 Shanghai
Silver medal – second place1991 Bangkok
Silver medal – second place1993 Shanghai
Silver medal – second place2003 Ho Chi Minh City
Silver medal – second place2011 Taipei
Silver medal – second place2013 Nakhon Ratchasima
Bronze medal – third place1989 Hong Kong
Bronze medal – third place1995 Chiang Mai
Bronze medal – third place1997 Manila
Bronze medal – third place1999 Hong Kong
Bronze medal – third place2005 Taicang
Bronze medal – third place2009 Hanoi
Bronze medal – third place2023 Nakhon Ratchasima
Bronze medal – third place2026 Tianjin
Asian Cup
Gold medal – first place2022 Pasig
Silver medal – second place2018 Nakhon Ratchasima
Montreux Volley Masters
Gold medal – first place2011 Switzerland
Silver medal – second place2019 Switzerland
Silver medal – second place2015 Switzerland
Bronze medal – third place2001 Switzerland
Bronze medal – third place1989 Switzerland
Universiade
Gold medal – first place1967 Tokyo
Gold medal – first place1985 Kobe
Silver medal – second place2021 Sichuan
Silver medal – second place2017 Taipei
Silver medal – second place1995 Fukuoka
Silver medal – second place1995 Mexico City
Silver medal – second place1970 Tulin
Bronze medal – third place2019 Naples
Bronze medal – third place2015 Gwangju
Bronze medal – third place1997 Sicily
Bronze medal – third place1983 Edmonton

The Japan women's national volleyball team (Hinotori Nippon, 火の鳥NIPPON), or All-Japan women's volleyball team, is currently ranked 7th[4] 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.

Masae Kasai standing in the center of podium as the captain of Oriental Witches [ja],[5] 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.[6]

Medals

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Event Gold Silver Bronze Total
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
Total20272370

History

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2012 London Olympics

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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.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] 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

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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.[10] Japan's opening match was on 25 July 2021 in Tokyo against Kenya.[11] They beat Kenya in their first match in straight sets[12] and lost against Serbia, Brazil, Korea and the Dominican Republic which caused them to miss the qualification for the quarterfinals.[13]

Winner of 6 major world titles

[edit]
Year Games Host Runner-up 2nd Runner-up
1962 #4th World ChampionshipUSSRSoviet Union USSRPoland Poland
1964 #Tokyo Olympic GamesJapanSoviet Union USSRPoland Poland
1967 #5th World ChampionshipJapanUnited States USASouth Korea South Korea
1974 &7th World ChampionshipMexicoSoviet Union USSRSouth Korea South Korea
1976 &Montreal Olympic GamesCanadaSoviet Union 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

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International

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Olympic Games

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  Gold    Silver    Bronze    Fourth place

Olympic Games record
Year Round Position GP MW ML SW SL
Japan 1964 Round robin Gold 5 5 0 15 1
Mexico 1968 Round robin Silver 7 6 1 19 3
Germany 1972 Final Silver 5 4 1 14 3
Canada 1976 Final Gold 5 5 0 15 0
Soviet Union 1980 Did not participate
United States 1984 Semifinals Bronze 5 4 1 12 5
South Korea 1988 Semifinals Fourth place 5 2 3 10 12
Spain 1992 Quarterfinals 5th place 5 3 2 10 9
United States 1996 Group stage 9th place 5 1 4 3 12
Australia 2000 Did not qualify
Greece 2004 Quarterfinals 5th place 6 2 4 6 13
China 2008 Quarterfinals 5th place 6 2 4 7 14
United Kingdom 2012 Semifinals Bronze 8 5 3 17 11
Brazil 2016 Quarterfinals 5th place 6 2 4 7 12
Japan 2020 Group stage 10th place 5 1 4 6 12
France 2024 Group stage 9th place 3 1 2 4 6
Total 2 titles 14/16 76 43 33 145 113

World Championship

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  Champions    Runners up    Third place    Fourth place

World Championship record
Year Round Position GP MW ML SW SL
Soviet Union 1952 Did not compete
France 1956
Brazil 1960 Final places Runners-up 7 6 1 19 5
Soviet Union 1962 Final places Champions 9 9 0 27 1
Japan 1967 Round robin Champions 3 3 0 9 0
Bulgaria 1970 Final places Runners-up 9 8 1 25 5
Mexico 1974 Final places Champions 11 11 0 33 2
Soviet Union 1978 Final Runners-up 9 7 2 21 12
Peru 1982 Semifinals Fourth place 9 6 3 20 9
Czechoslovakia 1986 5th–8th places 7th place 8 4 4 13 14
China 1990 5th–8th places 8th place 7 3 4 11 13
Brazil 1994 5th–8th places 7th place 7 4 3 14 11
Japan 1998 5th–8th places 8th place 8 4 4 14 12
Germany 2002 First round 13th place 5 2 3 8 10
Japan 2006 5th–8th places 6th place 11 7 4 23 18
Japan 2010 Semifinals Third place 11 8 3 28 17
Italy 2014 Second round 7th place 9 5 4 21 17
Japan 2018 Third round 6th place 12 7 5 28 18
Netherlands Poland 2022 Quarterfinals 5th place 10 7 3 24 11
Thailand 2025 Semifinals Fourth place 7 5 2 18 11
CanadaUnited States 2027 Qualified
Philippines 2029 To be determined
Total3 titles18/2215210646356186

World Cup

[edit]

World Grand Champions Cup

[edit]

FIVB World Grand Prix

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Nations League

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  Champions    Runners up    Third place    Fourth place

Montreux Volley Masters

[edit]
  • 1989 – Bronze Medal
  • 2001 – Bronze Medal
  • 2005 – 4th place
  • 2009 – 7th place
  • 2010 – 7th place
  • 2011 – Gold Medal
  • 2013 – 5th place
  • 2014 – 6th place
  • 2015 – Silver Medal
  • 2019 – Silver Medal

Continental

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Asian Games

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  • 1962 – Gold Medal
  • 1966 – Gold Medal
  • 1970 – Gold Medal
  • 1974 – Gold Medal
  • 1978 – Gold Medal
  • 1982 – Silver Medal
  • 1986 – Silver Medal
  • 1990 – Bronze Medal
  • 1994 – Bronze Medal
  • 1998 – Bronze Medal
  • 2002 – Bronze Medal
  • 2006 – Silver Medal
  • 2010 – 6th place
  • 2014 – 4th place
  • 2018 – 4th place
  • 2022 – Silver Medal
  • 2026 –

Asian Championship

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Asian Cup

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2026 Results and fixtures

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# Opponent Date Result Host city Tournament
1 France3 Jun3–1 (23–25, 25–12, 25–22, 25–13)Canada Quebec City2026 Nations League
2 Ukraine5 Jun3–1 (25–20, 16–25, 25–16, 25–20)
3 Germany6 Jun3–0 (25–20, 25–15, 26–24)
4 Canada7 Jun3–2 (29–27, 25–20, 23–25, 28–30, 15–12)
5 Serbia17 Jun3–2 (20–25, 26–24, 18–25, 32–30, 15–7)Philippines Pasig
6 Czech Republic19 Jun3–0 (25–15, 25–23, 27–25)
7 Dominican Republic20 Jun1–3 (25–17, 20–25, 26–28, 23–25)
8 Italy21 Jun0–3 (21–25, 23–25, 18–25)
9 Brazil8 Jul1–3 (20–25, 25–19, 19–25, 23–25)Japan Osaka
10 Thailand9 Jul3–1 (25–15, 25–21, 22–25, 25–22)
11 Turkey11 Jul1–3 (22–25, 25–22, 22–25, 22–25)
12 Poland12 Jul3–2 (20–25, 14–25, 25–19, 25–21, 15–13)
13 Brazil22 Jul1–3 (26–24, 22–25, 16–25, 20–25)Macau Macau
14 Hong Kong21 Aug3–0 (25–9, 25–15, 25–12)China Tianjin2026 AVC Women's Volleyball Continental Championship
15 South Korea23 Aug3–0 (33–31, 25–19, 25–20)
16 Vietnam25 Aug3–0 (25–23, 25–17, 25–21)
17 Chinese Taipei27 Aug3–0 (25–14, 25–21, 25–13)
18 Thailand29 Aug1–3 (21–25, 20–25, 25–20, 20–25)
19 Iran30 Aug3–0 (25–21, 25–16, 26–24)
Head coach: Turkey Ferhat Akbaş

Head-to-head record

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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.

Opponent GP MW ML
 Algeria110
 Argentina220
 Belgium422
 Brazil14113
 Bulgaria440
 Cameroon110
 Canada431
 China1358
 Croatia110
 Cuba211
 Czechoslovakia220
 Dominican Republic862
 East Germany101
 France110
 Germany651
 Great Britain110
 Greece110
 Hungary110
 Italy725
 Kenya330
 Mexico110
 Netherlands725
 North Korea110
 Peru541
 Poland954
 Romania110
 Russia523
 Serbia734
 South Korea17125
 Soviet Union633
 Spain110
 Thailand550
 Turkey743
 Ukraine110
 United States1358
 Venezuela110
Total1649470

Team

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Current squad

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The following is the Japan roster in the 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League[14]

Head coach: Turkey Ferhat Akbaş
No. Name Date of birth Position Height
2Ayaka ArakiSeptember 2, 2001 (age 25)MB185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
3Haruyo ShimamuraMarch 4, 1992 (age 34)MB182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
4Mayu Ishikawa (c)May 14, 2000 (age 26)OH174 cm (5 ft 9 in)
6Nanami SekiJune 12, 1999 (age 27)S171 cm (5 ft 7 in)
8Manami KojimaNovember 7, 1994 (age 31)L158 cm (5 ft 2 in)
11Nichika YamadaFebruary 24, 2000 (age 26)MB184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
12Satomi FukudomeNovember 23, 1997 (age 28)L162 cm (5 ft 4 in)
1Yukiko WadaJanuary 2, 2002 (age 24)OH174 cm (5 ft 9 in)
15Airi MiyabeJuly 29, 1998 (age 28)MB181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
9Miiku IwasawaOctober 13, 1999 (age 26)OH162 cm (5 ft 4 in)
10Tsukasa NakagawaAugust 13, 2000 (age 26)S159 cm (5 ft 3 in)
5Yoshino SatoNovember 12, 2001 (age 24)OH178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
22Ayane KitamadoJuly 6, 2004 (age 22)OH183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
26Miku AkimotoAugust 18, 2006 (age 20)OH185 cm (6 ft 1 in)

Former squads

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  • 1994 squad:

Head coach: Tadayoshi Yokota

No. Name Date of birth Height 1994 club
1Motoko Obayashi15.06.67182 cm (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)Hitachi
2Aki Nagatomi17.07.69173 cm (5 ft 8 in)Hitachi
3Chie Natori09.08.69176 cm (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)Daiei
4Mika Yamauchi07.10.69182 cm (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)Daiei
6Tomoko Yoshihara04.02.70179 cm (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)Hitachi
7Kiyoko Fukuda04.08.70178 cm (5 ft 10 in)Hitachi
8Miho Murata03.09.70178 cm (5 ft 10 in)Hitachi
9Asako Tajimi26.02.72179 cm (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)Hitachi
12Yumi Natta12.07.69161 cm (5 ft 3+1⁄2 in)Daiei
13Naomi Eto12.07.72186 cm (6 ft 1 in)Hitachi
16Maki Fujiyoshi24.05.74178 cm (5 ft 10 in)Hitachi
17Miyuki Shimasaki13.10.74178 cm (5 ft 10 in)Hitachi
5Kazuyo Matsukawa07.01.70181 cm (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)Daiei
10Kumiko Sakamoto13.12.72177 cm (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)Daiei
14Minako Onuki15.10.72173 cm (5 ft 8 in)NEC
15Miho Ota27.10.73179 cm (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)Hitachi
18Eiko Yasui08.05.71164 cm (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)Kanagawa

Coaches history

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[edit]
1964 Tokyo Olympics Women's Volleyball

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Nickname：HINOTORI NIPPON". jva.or.jp. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "JVA". Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "The FIVB Women's World Ranking". FIVB. 24 May 2026. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "FIVB Senior World Ranking - Women". The FIVB. FIVB. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  5. ↑ "Remembering Volleyball's 'Oriental Witches' - The New York Times". Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  6. ↑ "LONDON 2012 VOLLEYBALL, VOLLEYBALL WOMEN". olympic.org. August 2012. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "Brazil, Japan reach semifinals". ESPN.com. 8 August 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "Japan humbled by Brazil in women's volleyball semifinals, to play S. Korea for bronze". The Japan Times. 10 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  9. ↑ "Japan beats South Korea for historic volleyball bronze". The Japan Times. 12 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "Kenya Unveil Roster For The Tokyo Olympics". fivb.com. 26 June 2021. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  11. ↑ "Kenya Unveil Roster For The Tokyo Olympics". This is Volleyball. 26 June 2021. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "Malkia Strikers go down to Japan in Olympics opener". Citizentv.co.ke. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  13. ↑ NEWS, KYODO. "Olympics: Dominican Republic ends Japan women's volleyball quest". Kyodo News+. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  14. ↑ "Japan VNL 2025". Volleyball World. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  15. ↑ "New women's volleyball coach Nakada ready for challenge". japantimes.co.jp. Archived from the original on 3 May 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  16. ↑ "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" (in Japanese). yahoo.co.jp. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
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