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	14 (18 June 2026)
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 March 2026, they are ranked 14th 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
2026 – Qualified

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
2025–26	Cape Town, South Africa	4th	6	2	1	3	12	14
Total		4th place	16	5	2	9	32	49

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 12 February 2026, the following 20 players were called up for the 2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers in Ismailia, Egypt from 1 to 7 March 2026.^[4]

Caps updated as of 4 February 2026, after the match against New Zealand.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club
29	GK	Takumi Kitagawa	(1999-10-07) 7 October 1999 (age 26)	27	Gifu Asahi Blue Devils
30	GK	Takashi Yoshikawa	(1994-11-29) 29 November 1994 (age 31)	165	Gifu Asahi Blue Devils

2	DF	Shota Yamada	(1994-12-21) 21 December 1994 (age 31)	172	Gifu Asahi Blue Devils
4	DF	Yamato Kawahara	(2004-01-21) 21 January 2004 (age 22)	54	Ritsumeikan University
7	DF	Jun Watanabe	(2003-05-17) 17 May 2003 (age 23)	9	Tenri University
13	DF	Manabu Yamashita	(1989-02-04) 4 February 1989 (age 37)	244	Freaks Tokyo
23	DF	Yusuke Kawamura	(2001-07-24) 24 July 2001 (age 24)	48	IEBE Tochigi

3	MF	Yuto Higuchi	(2005-09-30) 30 September 2005 (age 20)	15	Ritsumeikan University
5	MF	Seren Tanaka	(1992-11-09) 9 November 1992 (age 33)	185	Gifu Asahi Blue Devils
8	MF	Taiki Takade	(2001-11-18) 18 November 2001 (age 24)	43	Lille
14	MF	Raiki Fujishima (Captain)	(1999-12-29) 29 December 1999 (age 26)	80	ALDER Hanno
22	MF	Kaito Tanaka	(1995-11-01) 1 November 1995 (age 30)	105	Gifu Asahi Blue Devils

1	FW	Koji Yamasaki	(1996-02-27) 27 February 1996 (age 30)	146
6	FW	Naru Kimura	(2005-12-27) 27 December 2005 (age 20)	21	Ritsumeikan University
9	FW	Kosei Kawabe	(1999-06-20) 20 June 1999 (age 27)	60	Gifu Asahi Blue Devils
11	FW	Kazumasa Matsumoto	(2000-06-21) 21 June 2000 (age 26)	36	Miyazaki Perfecture
16	FW	Hiro Saito	(2002-04-05) 5 April 2002 (age 24)	28	Fukui University of Technology
18	FW	Tsubasa Tanaka	(2003-10-10) 10 October 2003 (age 22)	13	Tenri University
19	FW	Ryoma Ooka	(2001-10-02) 2 October 2001 (age 24)	50	LIEBE Tochigi
35	FW	Ryosuke Shinohara	(2005-10-18) 18 October 2005 (age 20)	14	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	Kisho Kuroda	(2003-11-20) 20 November 2003 (age 22)	16	Tenri University	v. New Zealand, 4 February 2026
GK	Yosei Oba	(2001-09-15) 15 September 2001 (age 24)	7	Freaks Tokyo	2024 Asian Champions Trophy

DF	Hyota Yamada	(2003-01-30) 30 January 2003 (age 23)	14	Asahi University	v. New Zealand, 4 February 2026
DF	Ken Nagayoshi	(1999-10-26) 26 October 1999 (age 26)	75	LIEBE Tochigi	2025 Asia Cup

MF	Keita Watanabe	(2002-11-20) 20 November 2002 (age 23)	17	BlueSticks SHIGA	2025 Asia Cup

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Win Draw Loss Fixture

2026

Summer Series

30 January 2026 Test 1	New Zealand	2–5	Japan	Hamilton, New Zealand
18:30	Woods 45' Hiha 56'	Report	H. Yamada 18', 48', 57' Yamasaki 35' Kawabe 54'	Stadium: Gallagher Hockey Centre

1 February 2026 Test 2	New Zealand	5–1	Japan	Hamilton, New Zealand
16:30	Russell 8', 37' Thomas 23', 35' Lane 27'	Report	Shinohara 30'	Stadium: Gallagher Hockey Centre

2 February 2026 Test 3	New Zealand	4–3	Japan	Hamilton, New Zealand
18:30	Lane 19', 42' Woods 29' Russell 50'	Report	Matsumoto 14', 45' Yamasaki 33'	Stadium: Gallagher Hockey Centre

4 January 2026 Test 4	New Zealand	3–3	Japan	Hamilton), New Zealand
10:00	Russell 12', 29' Thomas 48'	Report	H. Yamada 21' Yamasaki 25', 60'	Stadium: Gallagher Hockey Centre

2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers

1 March 2026 Pool A	England	5–0	Japan	Ismailia, Egypt
18:45	Sorsby 11', 36' Ward 13' Croft 17', 44'	Report		Stadium: Suez Canal Stadium

2 March 2026 Pool A	Japan	4–0	United States	Ismailia, Egypt
18:45	Matsumoto 3' Yamasaki 23' Ooka 28' Kimura 56'	Report		Stadium: Suez Canal Stadium

4 March 2026 Pool A	Japan	6–3	Egypt	Ismailia, Egypt
20:45	Fujishima 7', 52', 59' Shinohara 9' Matsumoto 11', 40'	Report	El-Ganaini 22', 33', 34'	Stadium: Suez Canal Stadium

6 March 2026 Semi-final	Pakistan	4–3	Japan	Ismailia, Egypt
15:30	Ammad 9' Mahmood 52' Khan 55' Afraz 57'	Report	Ooka 21' Yamada 35' Yamasaki 41'	Stadium: Suez Canal Stadium

7 March 2026 3/4 Classification	Malaysia	4–5	Japan	Ismailia, Egypt
15:00	Saari 30' Jalil 32' Cholan 36' F.Saari 59'	Report	Ooka 15' Matsumoto 38' Fujishima 52' Yamasaki 55', 57'	Stadium: Suez Canal Stadium

Test matches

11 April 2026 Test 1	Japan	1–2	South Korea	Tokyo, Japan
13:00	Kawabe 3'	Report	Yang 57' Son 58'	Stadium: Oi Hockey Stadium

12 April 2026 Test 2	Japan	2–3	South Korea	Tokyo, Japan
15:30	Kimura 5' Matsumoto 32'	Report	Son 11' Bae 48' Kim 57'	Stadium: Oi Hockey Stadium

2026 FIH Nations Cup

11 June 2026 Pool A	South Korea	1–1	Japan	Cape Town, South Africa
14:30	Lim 27'	Report	T. Tanaka 37'	Stadium: Hartleyvale Stadium

12 June 2026 Pool A	Malaysia	1–4	Japan	Cape Town, South Africa
16:45	Saari 4'	Report	H. Yamada 26' Matsumoto 29' Tanaka 50' Fujishima 55'	Stadium: Hartleyvale Stadium

14 June 2026 Pool A	Japan	1–0	Scotland	Cape Town, South Africa
14:45	Yamasaki 43'	Report		Stadium: Hartleyvale Stadium

17 June 2026 Pool A	New Zealand	5–2	Japan	Cape Town, South Africa
19:00	Russell 13', 28' Boyde 29', 56' Lane 31'	Report	Watanabe 45' Matsumoto 46'	Stadium: Hartleyvale Stadium

19 June 2026 Semi finals	France	4–3	Japan	Cape Town, South Africa
19:00	Charlet 7' Esmenjaud 11' Clément 28' Sellier 53'	Report	Ooka 5' S. Yamada 8' H. Yamada 22'	Stadium: Hartleyvale Stadium

20 June 2026 3/4 classification	New Zealand	3–1	Japan	Cape Town, South Africa
16:45	Lane 27' Elmes 56' Hickson 57'	Report	Tanaka 4'	Stadium: Hartleyvale Stadium

2026 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup

16 August 2026 Pool A	Argentina	v	Japan	Amstelveen, Netherlands
19:00				Stadium: Wagener Stadium

18 August 2026 Pool A	New Zealand	v	Japan	Amstelveen, Netherlands
09:30				Stadium: Wagener Stadium

20 August 2026 Pool A	Netherlands	v	Japan	Amstelveen, Netherlands
18:00				Stadium: Wagener Stadium

References

1 2 "FIH Outdoor World Hockey Rankings". FIH. 18 June 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
↑ (in Dutch) http://www.nrc.nl/sport/article2162322.ece/Hockeytrainer_Tilburg_wordt_bondscoach_Japan
↑ "Japanese Hockey Federation". Retrieved 21 December 2014.
↑ "Men's National Hockey Team "Samurai Japan" March World Cup Final Qualifiers Roster" (PDF). en.hockey.or.jp. Japan Hockey Association. 12 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.

External links

[FIH_World_Rankings-1] 1 2 "FIH Outdoor World Hockey Rankings". FIH. 18 June 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.

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

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

[4] "Men's National Hockey Team "Samurai Japan" March World Cup Final Qualifiers Roster" (PDF). en.hockey.or.jp. Japan Hockey Association. 12 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.

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