(born

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, 8 September 1973), is a former Japanese rugby union player. He played as lock.

Career

Originally from

, Akatsuka was educated at

Meiji University is a Private university, private research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Originally founded as Meiji Law School () by three lawyers in 1881, it became a university in April 1920. As of May 2023, Meiji has 32,261 undergradu ...

and played for

Kubota is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Osaka. It was established in 1890. The corporation produces many products including tractors and other agricultural machinery, Heavy equipment, construction equipment, engines, vending machines, P ...

, winning the promotions to Kanto League 3 in 1985, Kanto League 2 in 1991 and Kanto League 1 in 1995. Along with his teammate Hideki Nishida, he was the first Kubota player to play internationally for

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 ...

. Akatsuka was first capped in 1994, during the match against

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 ...

, at Ehime, on 8 May 1994. He also took part at the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup (), was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in ...

, where he played only in the match against

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 ...

, in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

. After a nine years void, he was called in the Japanese national team by the then-coach

Jean-Pierre Élissalde Jean-Pierre Élissalde (born 31 December 1953) is a rugby union coach and former player. Playing career Élissalde began his career with his local team La Rochelle. He went on to play for Bayonne for two years between 1978 and 1980 before return ...

in 2005. Akatsuka last played for Japan against

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, in

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 ...

, on 25 November 2006.Meiji: le rival mythique de Waseda
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Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akatsuka, Takashi 1973 births Living people Rugby union players from Osaka Japanese rugby union players Rugby union locks Japan international rugby union players Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay players 1995 Rugby World Cup players Meiji University alumni