2017 Top Challenge League
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2017 Top Challenge League
The 2017 Top Challenge League was the inaugural season of Japan's second-tier domestic rugby union competition, the Top Challenge League. It was played from 9 September to 23 December 2017, with eight participating teams. Honda Heat won the competition for the second time – having previously won in 2014–15 – and won promotion to the 2018–19 Top League. Hino Red Dolphins, Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars and Kyuden Voltex finished second, third and fourth respectively to qualify for the promotion play-offs, while Kamaishi Seawaves finished seventh to qualify for the relegation play-offs. Chubu Electric Power finished eighth to be relegated to the third tier regional leagues for 2018. Competition rules In January 2017, the JRFU announced the format of the Top Challenge League competition. The competition was played in two stages. The First Stage was a round-robin format, where all eight teams played each other once. The top four teams in the First Stage progressed to Gr ...
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Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south. Japan is a part of the Ring of Fire, and spans Japanese archipelago, an archipelago of List of islands of Japan, 6852 islands covering ; the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa Island, Okinawa. Tokyo is the Capital of Japan, nation's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto. Japan is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the List of countries and dependencies by population density, most densely populated and Urbanization by country, urbanized. About three-fourths of Geography of Japan, the c ...
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Kamaishi, Iwate
is a city located on the Sanriku rias coast in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 32,609, and a population density of 74 persons per km2, in 16,230 households. The total area of the city is Geography Kamaishi is located in the Kitakami Mountains of south-central Iwate Prefecture, with the Pacific Ocean to the east. The spectacular, rugged coast of Kamaishi is entirely within the Sanriku Fukkō National Park. There are four large bays, Ōtsuchi Bay in the north, Ryōishi Bay, Kamaishi Bay and Tōni Bay in the south. Each is separated by large, rocky, pine-covered peninsulas which jut out into the Pacific Ocean. Immediately the rocky cliffs develop into hills rising to along the coast and farther inland. The highest point in Kamaishi is Mount Goyōzan in the southwest at 1,341.3 meters in elevation. Most of the land is mountainous, allowing for little agriculture. The main rivers are the Kasshigawa River which empties into Kamaishi Bay and the Un ...
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Mie Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to the northwest, Nara Prefecture to the west, Wakayama Prefecture to the southwest, and Aichi Prefecture to the east. Tsu is the capital and Yokkaichi is the largest city of Mie Prefecture, with other major cities including Suzuka, Matsusaka, Ise, and Kuwana. Mie Prefecture is located on the eastern coast of the Kii Peninsula, forming the western side of Ise Bay which features the mouths of the Kiso Three Rivers. Mie Prefecture is a popular tourism destination home to Nagashima Spa Land, Suzuka International Racing Course, and some of the oldest and holiest sites in Shinto, the traditional religion of Japan, including the Ise Grand Shrine and the Tsubaki Grand Shrine. History Until the Meiji Restoration, the area that is now Mie P ...
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Suzuka, Mie
is a city in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 197,977 in 87,680 households and a population density of 1000 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Suzuka is in northeastern Mie Prefecture, in northern Kii Peninsula, bordered by Ise Bay to the east. Parts of the city are within the borders of the Ise-no-Umi Prefectural Natural Park and the Suzuka Quasi-National Park. Neighboring municipalities Mie Prefecture *Yokkaichi * Tsu * Kameyama Shiga Prefecture *Kōka Climate Suzuka has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Suzuka is 15.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1737 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.7 °C. Demographics Per Japanese census data, the population of Suzuka has incre ...
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Tokyo Metropolis
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 million residents ; the city proper has a population of 13.99 million people. Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, the prefecture forms part of the Kantō region on the central coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. Tokyo serves as Economy of Japan, Japan's economic center and is the seat of both the Government of Japan, Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan. Originally a fishing village named Edo, the city became politically prominent in 1603, when it became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate. By the mid-18th century, Edo was one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of over one million people. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the imperial capital in Kyoto was mov ...
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Hino, Tokyo
250px, Takahata Fudō in Hino is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 187,048, and a population density of 6800 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Hino is in Western Tokyo. The city has three geographical regions. The western part is called the Hino plateau, approximately 100 meters above sea level. The southern part is Tama Hills, between 150 and 200 meters above sea level. The eastern part of the city is an alluvial plain of the Tama River. Surrounding municipalities Tokyo Metropolis * Fuchū *Kunitachi *Tachikawa *Akishima *Hachiōji * Tama Climate Hino has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hino is 13.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1647 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.4&nb ...
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Hiroshima Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama Prefecture to the east, Tottori Prefecture to the northeast, Shimane Prefecture to the north, and Yamaguchi Prefecture to the southwest. Hiroshima is the capital and largest city of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region, with other major cities including Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Fukuyama, Kure, Hiroshima, Kure, and Higashihiroshima. Hiroshima Prefecture is located on the Seto Inland Sea across from the island of Shikoku, and is bounded to the north by the Chūgoku Mountains. Hiroshima Prefecture is one of the three prefectures of Japan with more than one UNESCO World Heritage Site. History The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of tra ...
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Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has been the city's mayor since April 2011. Hiroshima was founded in 1589 as a castle town on the Ōta River delta. Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Hiroshima rapidly transformed into a major urban center and industrial hub. In 1889, Hiroshima officially gained city status. The city was a center of military activities during the imperial era, playing significant roles such as in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and the two world wars. Hiroshima was the first military target of a nuclear weapon in human history. This occurred on August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m., when the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) dropped the atomic bomb "Little Boy" on the city. Most of Hiroshima was destroyed, and by the end of th ...
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Aichi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture and Nagano Prefecture to the north, and Shizuoka Prefecture to the east. Overview Nagoya is the capital and largest city of Aichi Prefecture, and the fourth-largest city in Japan, with other major cities including Toyota, Okazaki, and Ichinomiya. Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya form the core of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, the third-largest metropolitan area in Japan and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. Aichi Prefecture is located on Japan's Pacific Ocean coast and forms part of the Tōkai region, a subregion of the Chūbu region and Kansai region. Aichi Prefecture is home to the Toyota Motor Corporation. Aichi Prefecture had many locations with the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens, The Chubu Centrair Internat ...
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Nisshin, Aichi
is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 91,795 in 37,398 households, and a population density of 2,629 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Nisshin is located on the flatlands of central Aichi Prefecture, and is bordered by the metropolis of Nagoya to the west. Climate The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers and relatively mild winters (Köppen climate classification ''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Nisshin is 15.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1603 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 28.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.1 °C. Demographics Per Japanese census data, the population of Nisshin has grown rapidly over the past 50 years. Neighboring municipalities ;Aichi Prefecture *Nagoya ( Midori-ku, Tenpaku-ku, Meitō-ku) *Toyota * Miyoshi *Nagakute * Tōgō History Late modern perio ...
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Mazda Blue Zoomers
Skyactivs Hiroshima (formerly Mazda Blue Zoomers) are a Japanese rugby union team who compete in the Japan Rugby League One. They were formerly owned by car manufacturers Mazda based in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. The team rebranded as Skyactivs Hiroshima, dropping the Mazda name, ahead of the rebranding of the Top League to the Japan Rugby League One in 2022. Squad The Skyactivs Hiroshima squad for the 2023 season is: See also *2007–08 Top League The 2007–08 Top League was the fifth season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. The Sanyo Wild Knights became the first ever team in the Top League to win all their league games, but were defeated for the Top League ti ... References External links * {{Skyactivs Hiroshima squad Sports teams in Hiroshima Prefecture Blue Zoomers Japan Rugby League One teams ...
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