Japan women's national volleyball team

Japan qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics as the best Asian team in the 2012 FIVB Women's World Olympic Qualification Tournament. In the 2012 Olympics, Japan had been placed on Group A with Russian Federation, Italy, Dominican Republic, the host Great Britain and Algeria. Japan finished third in the Group. In the quarter-finals, Japan faced their old Asian rival China. Saori Kimura and Yukiko Ebata each scored 33 points in this thrilling game in which China were beaten by 3–2.[6] It was their first win over China in 11 years as far as FIVB games are concerned. On 9 August 2012, the Japanese were outplayed by the defending champions Brazil in the semi-finals.[7] On 11 August 2012, Japan beat South Korea 3–0 in the bronze medal match. It is the first Olympics' volleyball medal for the Japanese since the 1984 Summer Olympics.[8] On August 13, 2012, Japan Women's Team was ranked 3rd in the world behind United States women's national volleyball team and Brazil women's national volleyball team.

Japan was the host nation for the 2020 Summer Olympics. The other teams in their group in Tokyo were Kenya, Serbia, Brazil, Korea and the Dominican Republic.[9] Japan's opening match was be on 25 July 2021 in Tokyo against Kenya.[10] They beat Kenya in their first match in straight sets [11] and lost against Serbia, Brazil, Korea and the Dominican Republic which caused them to miss the qualification for the quarterfinals.[12]

Year	Games	Host	Runner-up	2nd Runner-up
1962 #	4th World Championship	USSR	USSR	Poland
1964 #	Tokyo Olympic Games	Japan	USSR	Poland
1967 #	5th World Championship	Japan	USA	South Korea
1974 &	7th World Championship	Mexico	USSR	South Korea
1976 &	Montreal Olympic Games	Canada	USSR	South Korea
1977 &	2nd World Cup	Japan	Cuba	South Korea

#, & – Twice 3 Straight Major titles in 1960s and 1970s

(World Women's Volleyball Championship, World Cup, Olympic Games)

• 1964 – Gold Medal
• 1968 – Silver Medal
• 1972 – Silver Medal
• 1976 – Gold Medal
• 1984 – Bronze Medal
• 1988 – 4th place
• 1992 – 5th place
• 1996 – 9th place
• 2004 – 5th place (tied)
• 2008 – 5th place (tied)
• 2012 – Bronze Medal
• 2016 – 5th place (tied)
• 2020 – 10th place

• 1960 – Silver Medal
• 1962 – Gold Medal
• 1967 – Gold Medal
• 1970 – Silver Medal
• 1974 – Gold Medal
• 1978 – Silver Medal
• 1982 – 4th place
• 1986 – 7th place
• 1990 – 8th place
• 1994 – 7th place
• 1998 – 8th place
• 2002 – 13th place
• 2006 – 6th place
• 2010 – Bronze Medal
• 2014 – 7th place
• 2018 – 6th place

• 1973 – Silver Medal
• 1977 – Gold Medal
• 1981 – Silver Medal
• 1985 – 4th place
• 1989 – 4th place
• 1991 – 7th place
• 1995 – 6th place
• 1999 – 6th place
• 2003 – 5th place
• 2007 – 7th place
• 2011 – 4th place
• 2015 – 5th place
• 2019 – 5th place

• 1993 – 4th place
• 1997 – 5th place
• 2001 – Bronze Medal
• 2005 – 5th place
• 2009 – 4th place
• 2013 – Bronze Medal
• 2017 – 5th place

• 1993 – 6th place
• 1994 – 4th place
• 1995 – 7th place
• 1996 – 8th place
• 1997 – 4th place
• 1998 – 7th place
• 1999 – 7th place
• 2000 – 8th place
• 2001 – 6th place
• 2002 – 5th place
• 2003 – 9th place
• 2004 – 9th place
• 2005 – 5th place
• 2006 – 6th place
• 2007 – 9th place
• 2008 – 6th place
• 2009 – 6th place
• 2010 – 5th place
• 2011 – 5th place
• 2012 – 9th place
• 2013 – 4th place
• 2014 – Silver Medal
• 2015 – 6th place
• 2016 – 9th place
• 2017 – 7th place

• 2018 – 10th place
• 2019 – 9th place
• 2021 – 4th place

• 1989 – Bronze Medal
• 2001 – Bronze Medal
• 2005 – 4th place
• 2009 – 7th place
• 2010 – 7th place
• 2011 – Gold Medal
• 2013 – 5th place
• 2014 – 6th place
• 2015 – Silver Medal
• 2019 – Silver Medal

• 1962 – Gold Medal
• 1966 – Gold Medal
• 1970 – Gold Medal
• 1974 – Gold Medal
• 1978 – Gold Medal
• 1982 – Silver Medal
• 1986 – Silver Medal
• 1990 – Bronze Medal
• 1994 – Bronze Medal
• 1998 – Bronze Medal
• 2002 – Bronze Medal
• 2006 – Silver Medal
• 2010 – 6th place
• 2014 – 4th place
• 2018 – 4th place

• 1975 – Gold Medal
• 1979 – Silver Medal
• 1983 – Gold Medal
• 1987 – Silver Medal
• 1989 – Bronze Medal
• 1991 – Silver Medal
• 1993 – Silver Medal
• 1995 – Bronze Medal
• 1997 – Bronze Medal
• 1999 – Bronze Medal
• 2001 – 4th place
• 2003 – Silver Medal
• 2005 – Bronze Medal
• 2007 – Gold Medal
• 2009 – Bronze Medal
• 2011 – Silver Medal
• 2013 – Silver Medal
• 2015 – 6th place
• 2017 – Gold Medal
• 2019 – Gold Medal
• 2021 – Withdrew

• 2008 — 4th place
• 2010 — 4th place
• 2012 — 5th place
• 2014 — 4th place
• 2016 — 4th place
• 2018 — Silver Medal

The following is the Japanese roster at the 2020 Summer Olympics[13]

Head coach: Kumi Nakada

No.	Name	Position	Date of birth	Height	Weight	Spike	Block	2020-21 club
1	Ai Kurogo	WS/OH	14 June 1998	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	69 kg (152 lb)	306 cm (120 in)	295 cm (116 in)	Toray Arrows
2	Sarina Koga	WS/OH	21 May 1996	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	68 kg (150 lb)	307 cm (121 in)	290 cm (110 in)	NEC Red Rockets
3	Haruyo Shimamura	MB	4 March 1992	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)	78 kg (172 lb)	313 cm (123 in)	300 cm (120 in)	NEC Red Rockets
5	Erika Araki (c)	MB	3 August 1984	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	81 kg (179 lb)	305 cm (120 in)	297 cm (117 in)	Toyota Auto Body Queenseis
7	Yuki Ishii	WS/OH	8 May 1991	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	68 kg (150 lb)	302 cm (119 in)	287 cm (113 in)	Hisamitsu Springs
8	Mayu Ishikawa	WS/OH	14 May 2000	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	66 kg (146 lb)	300 cm (120 in)	285 cm (112 in)	Toray Arrows
9	Kanami Tashiro	S	25 March 1991	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	68 kg (150 lb)	280 cm (110 in)	273 cm (107 in)	Denso Airybees
13	Mai Okumura	MB	31 October 1990	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)	69 kg (152 lb)	297 cm (117 in)	285 cm (112 in)	Denso Airybees
14	Mako Kobata	L	15 August 1992	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)	56 kg (123 lb)	281 cm (111 in)	274 cm (108 in)	JT Marvelous
19	Nichika Yamada	MB	24 February 2000	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)	73 kg (161 lb)	310 cm (120 in)	288 cm (113 in)	NEC Red Rockets
21	Kotona Hayashi	OH	13 November 1999	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	62 kg (137 lb)	292 cm (115 in)	280 cm (110 in)	JT Marvelous
24	Aki Momii	S	7 October 2000	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)	65 kg (143 lb)	285 cm (112 in)	N/A	JT Marvelous

• 1994 squad:

Head coach: Tadayoshi Yokota

• 1996 Olympic Games — 9th place (tied)

  Kaiyo Hoshini, Aki Nagatomi, Kazumi Nakamura, Chieko Nakanishi, Motoko Obayashi, Ikumi Ogake, Mika Saiki, Kiyomi Sakamoto, Asako Tajimi, Chiho Torii, Mika Yamauchi, and Tomoko Yoshihara. Head Coach: Kuniaki Yoshida.

• 1999 FIVB World Cup — 6th place

  Naomi Eto, Megumi Itabashi, Chikako Kumamae, Hitomi Mitsunaga, Junko Moriyama, Ikumi Ogake, Minako Onuki, Yuka Sakurai, Miki Sasaki, Hiromi Suzuki, Asako Tajimi, and Hiroko Tsukumo. Head Coach: Nobushika Kuzuwa.

• 2002 World Championship — 14th place

  Makiko Horai, Sachiko Kodama, Chikako Kumamae, Hisako Mukai, Kanako Naito, Minako Onuki, Ai Otomo, Kana Oyama, Yuko Sano, Sachiko Sugiyama, Miyuki Takahashi, and Shinako Tanaka. Head Coach: Masahiro Yoshikawa.

• 2003 FIVB World Cup — 5th place

  Tomoko Yoshihara, Chie Tsuji, Miki Sasaki, Kanako Omura, Yoshie Takeshita, Miyuki Takahashi, Makiko Horai, Yuko Sano, Sachiko Sugiyama, Saori Kimura, Kana Oyama, and Megumi Kurihara. Head Coach: Shoichi Yanagimoto.

• 2004 Olympic Qualification Tournament — 1st place (qualified)

  Tomoko Yoshihara, Chie Tsuji, Ikumi Narita, Miki Sasaki, Kanako Omura, Yoshie Takeshita, Miyuki Takahashi, Sachiko Sugiyama, Ai Otomo, Kana Oyama, Megumi Kurihara, and Saori Kimura. Head Coach: Shoichi Yanagimoto.

• 2004 Olympic Games — 5th place (tied)

  Tomoko Yoshihara, Chie Tsuji, Ikumi Narita, Miki Sasaki, Kanako Omura, Yoshie Takeshita, Miyuki Takahashi, Sachiko Sugiyama, Ai Otomo, Kana Oyama, Megumi Kurihara, and Saori Kimura. Head Coach: Shoichi Yanagimoto.

• 2005 FIVB World Grand Prix — 5th place

  Erika Araki, Makiko Horai, Megumi Itabashi, Ayako Onuma, Ai Otomo, Yuka Sakurai, Miki Shimada, Kaoru Sugayama, Sachiko Sugiyama, Yoshie Takeshita, Miyuki Takahashi, and Chie Yoshizawa. Head Coach: Shoichi Yanagimoto.

• 2008 Olympic Qualification Tournament — 3rd place (qualified)

  Erika Araki, Miyuki Kano, Yuki Kawai, Saori Kimura, Megumi Kurihara, Kanako Omura, Yuka Sakurai, Yuko Sano, Miyuki Takahashi, Sachiko Sugiyama, Yoshie Takeshita, and Asako Tajimi. Head Coach: Shoichi Yanagimoto.

• 2008 Olympic Games — 5th place (tied)

  Erika Araki, Miyuki Kano, Yuki Kawai, Saori Kimura, Megumi Kurihara, Kanako Omura, Yuka Sakurai, Yuko Sano, Miyuki Takahashi, Sachiko Sugiyama, Yoshie Takeshita, and Asako Tajimi. Head Coach: Shoichi Yanagimoto.

• 2010 World Championship — 3rd place

  Megumi Kurihara, Hitomi Nakamichi, Yoshie Takeshita, Kaori Inoue, Ai Yamamoto, Yuko Sano, Mai Yamaguchi, Mizuho Ishida, Erika Araki, Saori Kimura, Yukiko Ebata, Saori Sakoda, Akiko Ino, and Kanari Hamaguchi, Head Coach: Masayoshi Manabe.

• 2012 Olympic Games — Bronze Medal

  Erika Araki(C), Saori Kimura, Yoshie Takeshita, Yukiko Ebata, Kaori Inoue, Ai Otomo, Yuko Sano, Mai Yamaguchi, Risa Shinnabe, Saori Sakoda, Maiko Kano, and Hitomi Nakamichi, Head Coach: Masayoshi Manabe.

• 2014 World Championship

  Saori Kimura(C), Miyu Nagaoka, Hitomi Nakamichi, Arisa Takada, Arisa Satō, Mai Yamaguchi, Mizuho Ishida, Yuki Ishii, Risa Shinnabe, Yukiko Ebata, Saori Sakoda, Kana Ōno, Sayaka Tsutsui, and Haruka Miyashita, Head Coach: Masayoshi Manabe.

• 2016 Olympic Games — 5th place

  Saori Kimura(C), Miyu Nagaoka, Arisa Satō, Mai Yamaguchi, Yuki Ishii, Saori Sakoda, Haruka Miyashita, Kanami Tashiro, Erika Araki, Yurie Nabeya, Haruyo Shimamura and Kotoki Zayasu, Head Coach: Masayoshi Manabe.

• 2018 World Championship — 6th Place

  Nana Iwasaka (C), Koyomi Tominaga, Kanami Tashiro, Erika Araki, Mai Okumura, Haruyo Shimamura, Risa Shinnabe, Yuki Ishii, Sarina Koga, Ai Kurogo, Mami Uchiseto, Miyu Nagaoka, Kotoe Inoue, Mako Kobata, Head Coach: Kumi Nakada.

• Tadayoshi Yokota
• Kuniaki Yoshida
• Nobushika Kuzuwa
• Masahiro Yoshikawa
• Shoichi Yanagimoto (2003–2008)
• Masayoshi Manabe (2008–2016)
• Kumi Nakada (2016–2021)[14][15]