is a Japanese

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for Yokohama B-Corsairs. He previously attended

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a University-preparatory school, preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. The organization is set across over 600 acres (243 ha) and features programs consisting of sport ca ...

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a pri ...

Early life and career

Tanaka was born in

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

to an American father and a Japanese mother. He briefly lived in Hawaiʻi as a child and was raised in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, Japan. Tanaka grew up

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

but was encouraged by his friends to play basketball due to his height.

High school career

Tanaka attended Sakamoto Junior High School in

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

and played for the youth team of the Yokohama B-Corsairs. In 2017, he led his team to second place at the B.League Under-15 Championship. In 2018, Tanaka began attending

, joining one of the best high school teams in the United States. In February 2019, he participated in the

Basketball Without Borders Basketball Without Borders is a basketball instructional camp organized by the NBA in conjunction with FIBA. It presents itself as a “basketball development and community outreach program that unites young basketball players to promote the sport ...

Global Camp during 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. In 2020, Tanaka left IMG due to mental health issues off court and transferred to Kahuku High School in Kahuku, Hawaiʻi. After the season was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, he traveled to

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

where he attended the All-Academic Basketball camp and received an offer from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

. However, Tanaka lost his roster spot due to the extension given by the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

Council to all players for the pandemic-altered season. In 2021, he transferred to Veritas National Prep School in

Santa Fe Springs, California Santa Fe Springs (''Santa Fe'', Spanish for "Holy Faith") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. The population was 19,219 at the 2020 census, up from 16,22 ...

, where he continued his

post-graduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

. Tanaka played for the Bethel University men's basketball team for the 2022-2023. He left the team to pursue a professional career in his native Japan

National team career

In January 2018, Tanaka led the Japanese under-16 team to the title of the Crystal Bohemia Cup in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, earning tournament

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

honors. Later that year, he averaged 15.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game for Japan at the

FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship The FIBA Under-16 Asia Cup, formerly known as the FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship, is a biennial international men's under-16 basketball competition organized by FIBA Asia. The event also serves as a qualification tournament for the FIBA Under ...

. Tanaka was invited to training camp with the Japanese senior national team for the

2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification was the first World Cup for which teams had to qualify for under the new qualification system. The process determined 31 out of the 32 teams that participated at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. ...

stage.

References

External links

Chikara Tanaka at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship
at fiba.basketball {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanaka, Chikara 2002 births Living people Japanese men's basketball players Japanese people of American descent Point guards IMG Academy alumni Sportspeople from Aomori Prefecture Yokohama B-Corsairs players Japanese expatriate basketball people in the United States