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

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

international cricket International cricket matches are played between the teams representing their nations, administrated by the International Cricket Council. The main forms are Test matches, ODI matches and T20I matches. Most games are played as part of "tou ...

. 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 w ...

(JCA), which has been a member of the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...

(ICC) since 1989. Japan made its international cricketing debut at the

1996 ACC Trophy The 1996 ACC Trophy was a cricket tournament in Malaysia, which took place from 6 to 16 September 1996. It gave Associate and Affiliate members of the Asian Cricket Council experience of international one-day cricket and also helped form an essen ...

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; Oceania. The ICC EAP was founded in 1996. It is subordinate to the International Cricket ...

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 ...

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

Twenty20 International Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...

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

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

matches played between Japan and other ICC members since 1 January 2019 have the full T20I status. Japan were placed in qualifier B in the

2022–23 ICC Men's T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline (typography), baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally l ...

, which was held in Sano, Japan. They beat Indonesia and South Korea to reach the East Asia-Pacific Regional Final, where they lost to the

Papua New Guinea national cricket team The Papua New Guinea men's national cricket team, nicknamed the Barramundis, is the team that represents the country of Papua New Guinea in international cricket. The team is organised by Cricket PNG, which has been an associate member of the ...

. They will participate in the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier B, which will take place in South Korea from September to October.

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 List of International Cricket Council members, associate and affiliate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), it was con ...

, losing all their games including a 380 run defeat by

Fiji Fiji, 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 of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

.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 (ACC) is a cricket organization 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 administrati ...

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 Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

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 The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

in the final. The following year they played in the 2006 ICC EAP Cricket Trophy in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

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 in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, playing against the Cook Islands, Indonesia,

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

and

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

. 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 ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

. On 22 March 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, S ...

, 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 ...

, which will become Japan's first dedicated purpose-built cricketing venue which no longer had to compete with other sports for usage. On 9 October 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. Japan was formally readmitted to ACC membership in January 2024, with Indonesia also joining as a member. Japan will be participating at 2022 Asian Games cricket tournament. They were placed in a group along with

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. This will be the Japan national cricket team's first appearance at the Asian Games. In recent years, the

has been actively promoting the game in Japan by conducting many professional ODI and T20 leagues, such as the Japan Cricket League and Japan Cup. The JCA has also designed a cricket blast programme to teach 8-12-year-old school children. Cricket in Japan is also being bolstered by immigrants from India, Pakistan, Australia, Britain, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

Tournament history

ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

: Runners-up (EAP Regional Final)

ACC Challenger Cup

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

: 4th place

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

Sources: *2015: 2nd place *2016: 2nd place *2018: Winners *

: Runners-up

Current squad

''Updated as of 12 May 2024'' This lists all the players who have played for Japan in the past 12 months or has been part of the latest T20I squad.

Records

International Match Summary — Japan ''Last updated 14 May 2025''

Twenty20 International

* Highest team total: 258/0 v.

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

on 15 February 2024 at

Mission Road Ground The Mission Road Ground, also known as the Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground, is a multi-purpose sports field on in Kau Pui Lung, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The ground is mainly used for cricket matches. It was opened in 1976, and the first cricket match ...

Mong Kok Mong Kok (Chinese language, Chinese: 旺角), also spelled Mongkok, often abbreviated as MK, is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Prince Edward, Hong Kong, Prince Edward subarea occupies the northern part of Mong Kok. As one of the major sho ...

. * Highest individual score: 134 *, Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake v.

on 15 February 2024 at

. * Best individual bowling figures: 6/26, Reo Sakurano-Thomas v.

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

on 2 February 2024 at

Terdthai Cricket Ground Thailand Cricket Ground or Terdthai Cricket Ground is a college ground in Lat Krabang district, Bangkok, Thailand. The Terdthai Cricket Ground (TCG) in Thailand is where Thailand Cricket League matches are played. In 2015, TCG was named as one o ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. Most T20I runs for Japan Most T20I wickets for Japan T20I record versus other nations ''Records complete to T20I #3182. Last updated 14 May 2025.''

Other matches

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

Notes

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 games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

Japan in international cricket