Rugby union in Japan is a growing sport. The national team (which is named "The Cherry Blossoms") is ranked 20th worldwide by the International Rugby Board (IRB) as of 28 August 2006.[1] There are 125,000 Japanese rugby players. [2]
Japan has the fourth largest rugby playing populations in the world and the sport has been played there for over 100 years.
The Japanese team are known for their speed and resourcefulness but have sometimes been at a disadvantage due to their relatively smaller size compared to Southern hemisphere and European players. This is changing, however, as the Japanese diet increasingly includes more meat at the expense of fish and resembles Western diets more closely. (As Japan is the nation of sumo, there is no obvious reason why they cannot produce large rugby union players.)
Training regimes and coaching are of a generally high standard, though sometimes it seems that politics interferes in the national squad's coaching and selection, with unfortunate results. The national team is also usually reinforced at and before the World Cup by one or two foreigners who qualify under IRB regulations. Of these Andrew Miller and Andrew McCormick, both from New Zealand, and Sinali Latu from Tonga have been the most successful.
Rugby union in Japan is governed by the Japan Rugby Football Union.
The Japan Rugby Football Union was officially formed on November 30, 1926 and is a full member of the International Rugby Board with one seat on the Executive Council.
The Top League is a semi-professional league which was first competed for in 2003-4.
The Microsoft Cup is a knock-out Japanese rugby tournament sponsored by Microsoft Japan. It is played between the top eight teams of the Top League.
The Japanese University rugby championships are held annually.
The National High School Rugby Tournament is held annually at Kintetsu Hanazono rugby stadium in East Osaka, Japan from the end of December to early January. All 47 Prefectures of Japan are represented, with four extra teams (one from Hokkaido, one from Tokyo, and two from Osaka prefecture) to make up the numbers.