Rugby union in Japan | |
---|---|
Country | Japan |
Governing body | Japan Rugby Football Union |
National team(s) | Japan |
Nickname(s) | Cherry Blossoms, Brave Blossoms |
First played | 1866, Yokohama |
Registered players | 122,598 (total) 53,416 (adult) 41,722 (teenage) 27,460 (pre-teenage)[1] |
Clubs | 3,620 |
Club competitions | |
International competitions | |
Audience records | |
Single match | 66,999 Waseda Univ. vs Meiji Univ. (5 December 1952, National Stadium (Tokyo))[2] |
Rugby union in Japan is a moderately popular sport. Japan has the fourth largest population of rugby union players in the world and the sport has been played there for over a century. There are 125,000 Japanese rugby players, 3,631 official rugby clubs, and the Japan national team is ranked 12th in the world.[3]