The Japan national cricket team is the men's team that represents Japan in international cricket. The team is organised by the Japan Cricket Association (JCA), which has been a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1989. Japan made its international cricketing 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 development region. Between 2008 and 2012, Japan participated in the World Cricket League (WCL), reaching WCL Division Five at one point.
In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 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, 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. 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 Japan Cricket Association was formed.Article about Japanese cricket They became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1989,Japan at CricketArchive and the national team first played in the 1996 ACC Trophy, losing all their games including a 380 run defeat by Fiji.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 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.Scorecard of Australia Cricket Board Indigenous v Japan, 1 March 2002 at CricketArchive Indonesia and South Korea were the other teams in the tournament.2002 East Asia Eights at CricketArchive 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.Scorecard of Japan v Indonesia, 29 May 2004 at CricketArchive
In June 2005, Japan were promoted to associate membership of the ICC and that year they played in the 2005 ICC EAP Cricket Cup in Vanuatu, winning the tournament after beating the Cook Islands in the final.2005 EAP Cricket Cup , ICC official website The following year they played in the 2006 ICC EAP Cricket Trophy in Brisbane finishing last in the three team tournament that also involved Fiji and the Cook Islands.2006 EAP Cricket Trophy at CricketEurope
In December 2007 Japan took part in the 2007 ICC EAP Cricket Trophy in Auckland, New Zealand, playing against the Cook Islands, Indonesia, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.ICC EAP newsletter, October 2007 Japan won the tournament and qualified for Division Five of the World Cricket League where they finished in tenth place out of the twelve countries represented in Jersey.World Cricket League structure, 2006–2009
On 22 March 2016, it was announced that Sano, Tochigi, would be home to the Sano International Cricket Ground, 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 Asian Cricket Council (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 participated at the 2022 Asian Games cricket tournament. They were placed in a group along with Cambodia and Hong Kong, finishing 2nd and missed out on the knockout stage. This was the Japan national cricket team's first appearance at the Asian Games.
In recent years, the Japan Cricket Association 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.CricketBlast Japan - Introduction Cricket in Japan is also being bolstered by immigrants from India, Pakistan, Australia, Britain, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
Grounds
Tournament history T20 World Cup East Asia Pacific Regional Final YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR 2019Did not qualify 2021Event cancelled 2023Round-robin2/463300Total1/20 Title 63300
T20 World Cup Asia–EAP Regional Final YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR 2025Super 65/672500Total1/10 Title 72500 A – Advanced to Global Qualifier. Q – Qualified for T20 World Cup.
Asian Games
YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR 2010Did not participate 2014 2022 Group Stage 9/1421100 2026Group Stage10/1020101Total2/40 Title41201
Twenty20 East Asia Cup YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR 2015Runners-up2/432100 2016Runners-up2/443100 2018Champions1/444000 2024Runners-up2/352300Total4/41 Title 1611500
Other tournaments ACC Challenger Cup ACC Trophy World Cricket League (List A/ODI) T20WC EAP Sub-regional Qualifiers (T20I) 2023: Did not participate 2024: 4th place1996: First round 1998: First round 2000: First round2008: Division 5 Tenth place 2009: Division 7 Fourth place 2011: Division 7 Sixth place 2012: Division 8 Third place2018: 3rd place 2022: Winners — Advanced 2024: Winners — Advanced 2026: Runner-ups
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.
Name Age Batting style Bowling style Notes Batters Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake Right-handed Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming Left-handed Right-arm off break Captain Koji Hardgrave-Abe Right-handed Right-arm off break Alester Kadowaki-Fleming Right-handed All-rounders Ibrahim Takahashi Right-handed Right-arm off break Declan Suzuki-McComb Left-handed Right-arm medium Sabaorish Ravichandran Right-handed Right-arm leg break Benjamin Ito-Davis Right-handed Right-arm off break Wicket-keepers Wataru Miyauchi Right-handed Alexander Shirai-Patmore Left-handed Spin Bowlers Makoto Taniyama Right-handed Right-arm leg break Charles Hara-Hinze Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Abdul Samad Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Pace Bowlers Reo Sakurano-Thomas Right-handed Right-arm medium Vice-Captain Ryan Drake Right-handed Right-arm medium Kazuma Kato-Stafford Left-handed Left-arm medium Kohei Kubota Right-handed Right-arm medium Kiefer Yamamoto-Lake Left-handed Right-arm medium
Records
International Match Summary — Japan
Last updated 26 September 2026 Playing Record Format M W L T NR Inaugural Match Twenty20 Internationals 65 41 21 1 2 9 October 2022
Twenty20 International Highest team total: 258/0 v. China on 15 February 2024 at Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok. Highest individual score: 134*, Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake v. China on 15 February 2024 at Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok. Best individual bowling figures: 6/26, Reo Sakurano-Thomas v. Thailand on 2 February 2024 at Terdthai Cricket Ground, Bangkok.
Most T20I runs for Japan PlayerRunsAverageCareer spanKendel Kadowaki-Fleming 1,879 37.58 2022–2026Sabaorish Ravichandran 997 22.15 2022–2026Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake 837 20.92 2022–2026Ibrahim Takahashi 689 16.40 2022–2026Alex Shirai-Patmore 469 17.37 2022–2026
Most T20I wickets for Japan PlayerWicketsAverageCareer spanSabaorish Ravichandran 63 11.76 2022–2026Ibrahim Takahashi 48 17.25 2022–2026Charles Hinze 47 13.06 2024–2026Reo Sakurano-Thomas 45 15.33 2022–2026Makoto Taniyama 43 12.18 2022–2026
T20I record versus other nations
Records complete to T20I #4147. Last updated 26 September 2026. Opponent M W L T NR First match First win ICC Full members 1 0 1 0 0 24 September 2026 1 0 1 0 0 22 September 2026 vs Associate Members 2 1 0 1 0 26 February 2026 26 February 2026 1 1 0 0 0 27 February 2026 27 February 2026 1 1 0 0 0 27 September 2023 27 September 2023 2 2 0 0 0 15 February 2024 15 February 2024 4 3 1 0 0 9 May 2025 9 May 2025 1 1 0 0 0 10 May 2026 10 May 2026 5 0 5 0 0 1 October 2023 9 7 2 0 0 9 October 2022 9 October 2022 1 1 0 0 0 9 October 2025 9 October 2025 1 1 0 0 0 4 February 2024 4 February 2024 7 6 0 0 1 7 May 2024 7 May 2024 2 0 1 0 1 10 October 2025 1 0 1 0 0 17 October 2025 3 1 2 0 0 25 July 2023 18 May 2026 5 5 0 0 0 22 July 2023 22 July 2023 1 0 1 0 0 15 October 2025 2 2 0 0 0 12 October 2025 12 October 2025 1 0 1 0 0 9 February 2024 2 0 2 0 0 6 February 2024 4 4 0 0 0 15 October 2022 15 October 2022 4 3 1 0 0 2 February 2024 2 February 2024 1 0 1 0 0 16 October 2025 3 2 1 0 0 23 July 2023 23 July 2023
Other matches For a list of selected international matches played by Japan, see Cricket Archive.
See also Japan national women's cricket team Japan Cricket Association Cricket in Japan List of Japan Twenty20 International cricketers Sano International Cricket Ground ICC East Asia-Pacific
Notes
References
External links Japan Cricket Association Official Website Japan Cricket Association Official Website Cricinfo Japan Growing up a lonely cricket fan in Japan