Japanese National Team roster updated, no major changes

Ryuju Nagashima, Japan’s new -60kg champion

As per usual at this time of the year, the Japanese National team roster went through a reshuffling at the conclusion of the All-Japan Open Weight Championships on April 29th (for full roster in Japanese, click here). Changes usually occur in April and then again in November at the conclusion of the Kodokan Cup. The junior national team roster also gets re-evaluated in August, at the conclusion of the All-Japan High School Championships.

Unlike the women’s side, which saw a near complete overhaul of their A-team roster, the men’s side had no major changes, with the coaching staff not cutting many athletes from the roster, and instead, nominating 2 athletes to the “A” roster in most categories. Athletes who have been nominated to the A team for the first time include Hifumi Abe (-66), who replaces Masashi Ebinuma as Japan’s top player in the category. A word of note to anyone who has griped about being promoted too slowly, Abe is the only player on the senior national team who holds the rank of 1st degree black belt (shodan). Ryuju Nagashima, the prodigy from Tokai University, will join his former teammate Naohisa Takato as co-leaders of the -60 division.  Aaron Wolf, and Soichiro Hashimoto also earned spots on the A-team for the first time in their careers. Wolf joins Ryunosuke Haga at -100, and Hashimoto joins Shohei Ono at -73.

Though Japan has quite a lot of depth in each category, the -100kg category has a particularly small pool of athletes on the roster, with only 5 on the senior national team. That is less than half of the size of the -60, and-66 rosters, which have 11 athletes in each. Matthew Baker, who despite being injured, retained his spot as Japan’s top -90kg player. Though strong, the -90kg division has a fair amount of athletes nearing the end of their careers, without a huge amount of depth amongst the younger players. Daiki Nishiyama, Yuya Yoshida and Hirotaka Kato have all represented Japan for over a decade now.

In the +100kg category, Japan has opted to focus on their youth, with 5 of the 9 senior national team members coming from universities. Ryu Shichinohe and Daiki Kamikawa are the only 2 athletes on the B-team who are competing for trade teams at the moment. The +100kg category looks to be quite healthy, with Kokoro Kageura of Tokai university and Yusei Ogawa of Meiji leading the group. Hisayoshi Harasawa and Takeshi Ojitani, both soon to turn 25 this summer will have a hard time retaining their top spots in the run-up to the olympics in 2020.

This is one of the best judo teams Japan has put forth in a long time, in my opinion. There are really no weak categories, though the -100 and -90 categories seem to lack a bit of depth. From lightweight to middleweight, I really believe that we will see 2 athletes in each category on the podium at the next world championships in Budapest. They are all THAT good.  Though I don’t think that the Japanese heavyweights can challenge France’s Teddy Riner at the moment, domestically, it is a very competitive and interesting division. There is no dominant athlete, but in this case, I believe it is more of an indication that the division has a lot of overall depth, rather than a lack depth.

Finally, though slightly unrelated, I will leave you with a short video of one of the top Japanese athletes in the cadet category. At only 16 years of age, Sanshiro Murao already looks to be one of the best -90kg players in Japan, regardless of age. Coached by former olympian, Masahiro Takamatsu at Toin High School, Murao has a style similar to Hiroshi Izumi, where his uncanny balance allows him to switch directions like no one else. Enjoy him leading his team to the overall victory in last March’s All-Japan High School Championships, where he won 3 in a row before losing to his +100kg teammate on the national team, Naoki Tobe of Taisei High School.