The Japan national cricket team is the men's team that represents the country of

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 ...

international cricket International cricket matches are played between teams representing their nations, normally organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The main forms are Test matches, One-Day matches and Twenty20 matches. Most games are played ...

. The team is organised by the

Japan Cricket Association Japan Cricket Association, a Japanese non-profit organization, is the governing body for cricket in Japan. It was originally formed in 1984 and registered as NPO in 2001. The Association operates the Japan national cricket team and the Japan wo ...

(JCA), which has been a member of the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...

(ICC) since 1989. Japan made its international debut at the 1996 ACC Trophy in Malaysia. Most of the team's matches are played in regional competitions, generally against other teams in the

ICC East Asia-Pacific ICC East Asia-Pacific is the International Cricket Council region responsible for administration of the sport of cricket in East Asia and the Pacific area. The region was founded in 1996 with a regional office established in 1999. The area cove ...

development region. Between 2008 and 2012, Japan participated in the

World Cricket League The ICC World Cricket League (WCL) was a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status (i.e., teams of Associate status) administered by the International Cricket Council. All Associate Members of t ...

(WCL), reaching WCL Division Five at one point. In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full

Twenty20 International A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...

(T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

matches played between Japan and other

ICC members The International Cricket Council (ICC) was founded at Lord's on 15 June 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference, with Australia, England, and South Africa as its founding members. In the beginning, only countries within the Commonwealth could ...

since 1 January 2019 have been a full T20I.

History

Cricket was introduced to Japan in the 1860s, by the British, but did not become organised until the 1980s, when the

was formed.Article about Japanese cricket
They became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1989,
at CricketArchive and the national team first played in the 1996

ACC Trophy The ACC Trophy was a limited-overs cricket tournament organised by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). Open only to associate and affiliate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), it was contested biennially between 1996 and 2012, but ha ...

, losing all their games including a 380 run defeat by

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

.1996 ACC Trophy
at CricketEurope They continued without success in the 1998 tournament1998 ACC Trophy
at CricketEurope and the 2000 tournament.2000 ACC Trophy
at CricketEurope After the 2000 ACC Trophy, they left the

Asian Cricket Council The Asian Cricket Council also known as ACC is a cricket organisation which was established in 1983, to promote and develop the sport of cricket in Asia. Subordinate to the International Cricket Council, the council is the continent's regional ...

and became part of the ICC's East Asia/Pacific region. They played in the East Asia Eights tournament in Australia in February 2002, finishing as runners-up to an Australian indigenous team.

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

were the other teams in the tournament. In 2004, they hosted the East Asia Pacific Cricket Challenge tournament as part of qualification for the 2007 World Cup, finishing third after beating Indonesia in a play-off. In June 2005, Japan were promoted to associate membership of the ICC and that year they played in the

2005 ICC EAP Cricket Cup The 2005 ICC EAP Cricket Cup was held in Vanuatu between 23 and 29 September 2005 as part of the qualification for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Six teams from the East Asia-Pacific Region competed in a round-robin stage, followed by ranking finals. ...

in Vanuatu, winning the tournament after beating the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

in the final. The following year they played in the

2006 ICC EAP Cricket Trophy The 2006 ICC EAP Cricket Trophy was held in Brisbane, Australia from 27 June – 2 July 2006, functioning as the East Asia-Pacific regional final for the 2011 Cricket World Cup and World Cricket League EAP region, EAP qualification tournament fo ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

finishing last in the three team tournament that also involved Fiji and the Cook Islands. In December 2007 Japan took part in the

2007 ICC EAP Cricket Trophy The 2007 ICC EAP Cricket Trophy (International Cricket Council East Asia Pacific Cricket Trophy) is an international cricket tournament that forms part of the ICC World Cricket League. It was played in Auckland, New Zealand from 2 to 8 December 200 ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, playing against the Cook Islands, Indonesia,

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

. Japan won the tournament and qualified for Division Five of the

where they finished in tenth place out of the twelve countries representedICC's one-day rankings
in

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

. On March 22, 2016, it was announced that

Sano, Tochigi is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,669, in 52,066 households and a population density of 330 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . The city is known for its Outlet Mall, Sa ...

, would be home to the

Sano International Cricket Ground Sano Cricket Ground is a cricket ground in Sano, Japan. The ground is one of the few facilities in Japan that is used for cricket. The pitch is made of plastic carpet and is in pretty good condition. The ground is also used for baseball. The s ...

, which will become Japan's first dedicated cricketing venue built for purpose which no longer has to compete with other sports for usage. On October 9, 2022, Japan played their first ever T20 international match against Indonesia. In January 2023 it was announced that Japan and Indonesia would be included in

(ACC) pathway events, while remaining in the ICC East Asia-Pacific development region.

Tournament history

ACC Trophy

*1996: First round *1998: First round *2000: First round

World Cricket League

*2008: Division 5 Tenth place *2009: Division 7 Fourth place *2011: Division 7 Sixth place *2012: Division 8 Third place

East Asia Cup

*2015: 2nd place *2016: 2nd place *2018: Won

Records

International Match Summary — Japan ''Last updated 18 October 2022''

Twenty20 International

T20I record versus other nations ''Records complete to T20I #1829. Last updated 18 October 2022.''

Other matches

For a list of selected international matches played by Japan, se
Cricket Archive

References

External links

Japan Cricket Association Official Website

Japan Cricket Association Official Website

Growing up a lonely cricket fan in Japan
{{National sports teams of Japan Cricket in Japan National cricket teams

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

Japan in international cricket