Women's Japan Ice Hockey League

Women's Japan Ice Hockey League
女子日本アイスホッケーリーグ
Smile Japan League
SportIce hockey
Founded2012 (2012)
FounderJapan Ice Hockey Federation
No. of teams12
Most recent
champion(s)
Seibu Princess Rabbits
(2023–24)
Most titlesSeibu Princess Rabbits (9)
Domestic cup(s)All-Japan Women's Ice Hockey Championship

The Women's Japan Ice Hockey League (Japanese: 女子日本アイスホッケーリーグ, Hepburn: Joshi Nihon Aisu Hokkē Rīgu) or WJIHL is the premier women's ice hockey league in Japan. Officially nicknamed the Smile Japan League,[1] it is also known as the Smile League (Japanese: スマイルリーグ). The league was founded in 2012 by the Japan Ice Hockey Federation and is contested in addition to the All-Japan Women's Ice Hockey Championship tournament. Twelve teams participated in the 2023–24 season, of which eight were based in the northern island-province of Hokkaido, two in the Tokyo Metropolis, and two were junior teams comprising youth players from across Japan.

The league’s most successful team, the Seibu Princess Rabbits, won the first eight league titles and have been WJIHL Champions a total of nine times. DK Peregrine claimed second place in seven of the first eight league finals and won the league championship in 2021. Daishin IHC are the only other team to have played in the finals, finishing second in 2014 and winning their first league title in 2023.

  1. ^ "第11回女子日本アイスホッケーリーグ (2022-23 SMILE JAPAN LEAGUE)" (PDF). Japan Ice Hockey Federation (in Japanese). 26 February 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.