Wikipedia

Tokyo Great Bears

Tokyo Great Bears (Japanese: 東京グレートベアーズ) is the Japanese male volleyball club in the SV.League, the highest-tier volleyball league in Japan. Established in May 2022 by Nature Lab Co., Ltd. and would start competing in 2022–23 season.[1]

Tokyo Great Bears
2023–24 V.League Division 1 Men's
Full nameTokyo Great Bears
東京グレートベアーズ
FoundedMay 2022; 4 years ago (2022-05)[1]
GroundKōtō, Tokyo, Japan
OwnerNature Lab Co., Ltd.
Great Bears Co., Ltd.
Head CoachFinland Kasper Vuorinen
CaptainJapan Koichiro Koga[2]
LeagueV.League Division 1
WebsiteClub home page

Concept

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The team name means the players and supporters that are connected, comparable to the seven stars of the Big Dipper, which is part of Ursa Major. The club intend to connect people, regions, and the world through volleyball. They will envision a future that will make the volleyball world more exciting and attractive.[3]

History

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In 2021, it was announced that FC Tokyo volleyball team would suspend the operations after the 2021–22 V. League season.[4][5] But in May 2022, It was reported that the team was transferred to Nature Lab Co., Ltd. and established as the new team Tokyo Great Bears.[6][3]

In the same month, Great Bears Co., Ltd. was founded as the management company for the club under Nature Lab and some players from FC Tokyo was also transferred to the club.[3]

All players are offered professional contracts.[7]

Tokyo Great Bears broke the V.League Division 1 attendance record with 8,142 fans in attendance for the game against JTEKT Stings at Ariake Coliseum.[8]

Team

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Current roster

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Team roster – season 2025/2026
No. Player Name Date of birth Position
1Poland Bartosz KurekAugust 29, 1988 (age 37)Opposite hitter
3Japan Fukatsu AkihiroJuly 23, 1987 (age 38)Setter
4Slovenia Jan KozamernikDecember 24, 1995 (age 30)Middle blocker
5Japan Wataru Taniguchi [ja]November 5, 1996 (age 29)Libero
6Portugal Alex FerreiraNovember 13, 1991 (age 34)Outside hitter
8Japan Masahiro YanagidaJuly 6, 1992 (age 33)Outside hitter
9Japan Takahiro TozakiJune 14, 1995 (age 30)Outside hitter
10Japan Taichirō Koga (c)October 4, 1989 (age 36)Libero
12Japan Go MurayamaJuly 30, 1998 (age 27)Middle blocker
13Japan Issei OtakeDecember 3, 1995 (age 30)Middle blocker
15Japan Yuki ImahashiDecember 25, 2000 (age 25)Setter
17Argentina Luciano VicentinApril 4, 2000 (age 26)Outside hitter
25Japan Rikuto Goto [ja]May 13, 2001 (age 25)Outside hitter
26Japan Riku Ito [ja]November 14, 2001 (age 24)Middle blocker
29Japan Ryuki OhmaeNovember 21, 2002 (age 23)Libero
31Japan Ryusei KurokawaMay 31, 2002 (age 24)Setter
39Japan Yusaku TakashimaJanuary 31, 2004 (age 22)Opposite hitter
Head coach: Finland Kasper Vuorinen

Former roster

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Team roster – season 2023/2024
No. Player Name Date of birth Position
1Japan Hidetomo HoshinoSeptember 29, 1990 (age 35)Outside hitter
2Japan Kentaro TamayaJanuary 30, 1992 (age 34)Setter
3Japan Fukatsu AkihiroJuly 23, 1987 (age 38)Setter
6Japan Hideyuki Kuriyama [ja]July 15, 1993 (age 32)Middle Blocker
7Japan Kouhei YanagisawaMay 24, 1993 (age 33)Outside hitter
8Japan Masahiro YanagidaJuly 6, 1992 (age 33)Outside hitter
9Japan Takahiro TozakiJune 14, 1995 (age 30)Outside hitter
10Japan Taichirō Koga (c)October 4, 1989 (age 36)Libero
11Japan Daigo YamadaApril 11, 1998 (age 28)Middle blocker
12Japan Hirotaka OdashimaJuly 22, 1991 (age 34)Middle Blocker
13Japan Hayata YanagimachiJune 17, 1996 (age 29)Opposite Spiker
14Japan Shin TeharaApril 14, 1993 (age 33)Setter
15Japan Yuki ImahashiDecember 25, 2000 (age 25)Setter
16Japan Takumi KameyamaFebruary 27, 2001 (age 25)Outside Hitter
17Japan Shingo Kasari January 29, 1997 (age 29)Outside hitter
18Japan Tetsuya MutoNovember 5, 1997 (age 28)Middle Blocker
20Brazil Rafael AraújoJune 13, 1991 (age 35)Opposite hitter
28Japan Kandai GotoJanuary 25, 2003 (age 23)Libero
Head coach: Finland Kasper Vuorinen

Head coach history

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Name Years
Japan Koichiro Shimbo2022-2023[9]
Finland Kasper Vuorinen2023-Present[10]

Notable players

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Results

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League result

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  Champion   Runner-up

League Position Teams Matches Win Lose
V.League Division 1 2022–23 season8th10361026

References

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  1. 1 2 "tokyo-greatbears information". tokyo-greatbears.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  2. ↑ "022-23シーズン 選手契約（12選手）及びキャプテン決定のお知らせ" (in Japanese). tokyo-greatbears.com. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "バレーV１新チーム『東京グレートベアーズ』小池百合子東京都知事を表敬訪問" (in Japanese). prtimes.jp. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  4. ↑ Li, Matthew (8 December 2021). "Espejo's team FC Tokyo to suspend V.League ops after season". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "FC東京バレーボールチーム活動休止のお知らせ ｜ニュース｜バレーボール｜FC東京オフィシャルホームページ". FC Tokyo (in Japanese). 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "応援ありがとうございました。" (in Japanese). fctokyo.co.jp. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "【東京GBインタビュー①】久保田代表取締役が感じたVリーグの可能性「我々も26年前にはなかった会社」 | 月バレ.com【月刊バレーボール】". 月バレ.com【月刊バレーボール】 | 月刊バレーボールが運営するバレー情報サイト (in Japanese). 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  8. ↑ "東京グレートベアーズ 2023年3月5日(日)V.LEAGUE MEN 最多入場者数更新のお知らせ". プレスリリース・ニュースリリース配信シェアNo.1｜PR TIMES. 2023-03-05. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  9. ↑ ネイチャーラボ. "真保綱一郎監督 退任のお知らせ - NEWS - ニュース｜東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト". 東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  10. ↑ ネイチャーラボ. "カスパー・ヴオリネン新監督就任のお知らせ - NEWS - ニュース｜東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト". 東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-06-15.
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