Japan men's national volleyball team

Japan
Nickname(s)Ryujin Nippon
AssociationJapan Volleyball Association
ConfederationAVC
Head coachVacant (Philippe Blain 2022-2024)
FIVB ranking2 (as of 10 July 2024)
Uniforms
Home
Away
Third
Summer Olympics
Appearances10 (First in 1964)
Best result (1972)
World Championship
Appearances17 (First in 1960)
Best result (1970, 1974)
World Cup
Appearances15 (First in 1965)
Best result (1969, 1977)
Asian Championship
Appearances22 (First in 1975)
Best result (1975, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1995, 2005, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2023)
www.jva.or.jp/national_team/2024/men_member/ (in Japanese)
Honours
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 1 1
World Championship 0 0 2
World Cup 0 3 0
World Grand Champions Cup 0 0 1
Nations League 0 1 1
Asian Championship 10 4 4
Asian Games 8 2 3
Asian Cup 0 1 3
Eastern Asian Championship 6 0 4
Universiade 3 3 4
Total 28 15 23
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1972 Munich Team
Silver medal – second place 1968 Mexico City Team
Bronze medal – third place 1964 Tokyo Team
World Championship
Bronze medal – third place 1970 Sofia Team
Bronze medal – third place 1974 Mexico City Team
World Cup
Silver medal – second place 1969 East Germany Team
Silver medal – second place 1977 Japan Team
World Grand Champions Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Osaka/Nagoya Team
Nations League
Silver medal – second place 2024 Łódź Team
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Gdańsk Team
Asian Championship
Gold medal – first place 1975 Melbourne Team
Gold medal – first place 1983 Tokyo Team
Gold medal – first place 1987 Kuwait City Team
Gold medal – first place 1991 Perth Team
Gold medal – first place 1995 Seoul Team
Gold medal – first place 2005 Suphanburi Team
Gold medal – first place 2009 Manila Team
Gold medal – first place 2015 Tehran Team
Gold medal – first place 2017 Gresik Team
Gold medal – first place 2023 Urmia Team
Silver medal – second place 1989 Seoul Team
Silver medal – second place 1997 Doha Team
Silver medal – second place 2007 Jakarta Team
Silver medal – second place 2021 Chiba/Funabashi Team
Bronze medal – third place 1979 Manama Team
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Nakhon Ratchasima Team
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Changwon Team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Tehran Team
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1958 Tokyo Team
Gold medal – first place 1962 Jakarta Team
Gold medal – first place 1966 Bangkok Team
Gold medal – first place 1970 Bangkok Team
Gold medal – first place 1974 Tehran Team
Gold medal – first place 1982 New Delhi Team
Gold medal – first place 1994 Hiroshima Team
Gold medal – first place 2010 Guangzhou Team
Silver medal – second place 1978 Bangkok Team
Silver medal – second place 2014 Incheon Team
Bronze medal – third place 1990 Beijing Team
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Hangzhou Team
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Busan Team
Asian Cup
Silver medal – second place 2022 Nakhon Pathom Team
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Vinh Yen Team
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Nakhon Pathom Team
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Taipei Team
Eastern Asian Championship
Gold medal – first place 1998 Macau Team
Gold medal – first place 2000 Ulaanbaatar Team
Gold medal – first place 2004 Taicang Team
Gold medal – first place 2006 Pingtung Team
Gold medal – first place 2015 Ulaanbaatar Team
Gold medal – first place 2017 Ulaanbaatar Team
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Shanghai Team
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Ulaanbaatar Team
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Jeju Team
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Taipei Team
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1967 Tokyo Team
Gold medal – first place 1985 Kobe Team
Gold medal – first place 1993 Buffalo Team
Silver medal – second place 1999 Palma de Mallorca Team
Silver medal – second place 2003 Daegu Team
Silver medal – second place 2005 Izmir Team
Bronze medal – third place 1979 Mexico City Team
Bronze medal – third place 1981 Bucharest Team
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Kazan Team
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Taipei Team
Goodwill Games
Bronze medal – third place 1986 Moscow Team

The Japan men's national volleyball team (Japanese: 男子バレーボール日本代表), also referred to as Ryujin Nippon (Japanese: 龍神ニッポン; Lit. trans: Dragon God of Japan) or simply Nippon, represents Japan in international volleyball competitions and friendly matches, governed by Japan Volleyball Association.[1] As of September 2024, the team is ranked sixth in the FIVB Senior World Rankings, with their peak coming at second place prior to the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Japan first won a bronze medal at the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games, followed by silver at Mexico 1968 and a gold at Munich 1972. In the years that followed, Japan has been unsuccessful and missed three successive Olympic Games before returning at Beijing 2008, where they failed to win a match. Japan then failed to qualify for London 2012 and Rio 2016. At the FIVB World Championship, Japan has won bronze medals in 1970 and 1974, as well as silver medals at the 1969 and 1977 FIVB World Cup.

Despite their past struggles in the world leagues, Japan has been recognized as one of the best volleyball teams in Asia, and Japan's SV.League is typically regarded as the most prestigious volleyball league on the continent. The team has won the Asian Championships nine times and the Asian Games eight times.

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Japan advanced to the Quarterfinals round and eventually finished in seventh place, its best result since the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. As of the last 3 years, the team has been successful in the world leagues as they have achieved both bronze and silver medals at the 2023 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League and the 2024 edition, respectively. These results have been the nation's best since the tournament's creation in 2017. [2][3]

  1. ^ "Nickname : RYUJIN NIPPON". www.jva.or.jp. Japan Volleyball Association (JVA). Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  2. ^ "「五輪だから体を酷使しても戦い切る」バレー西田有志が見せた覚悟" (in Japanese). new.yahoo.co.jp. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  3. ^ "バレー男子 日本が29年ぶり決勝T進出 イラン降し3勝2敗" (in Japanese). mainichi.jp. Retrieved 3 August 2021.