Japan men's national ice hockey team

Japan
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationJapan Ice Hockey Federation
General managerYutaka Saho
Head coachJarrod Skalde
AssistantsChris Wakabayashi
Takeshi Yamanaka
CaptainShogo Nakajima
Most gamesGo Tanaka (126)
Top scorerToshiyuki Sakai (44)
Most pointsNorio Suzuki (85)
Team colors     
IIHF codeJPN
Ranking
Current IIHF24 Increase 1 (27 May 2024)[1]
Highest IIHF15 (2003–04)
Lowest IIHF25 (2021–23)
First international
Czechoslovakia  12–2  Japan
(Davos, Switzerland; 24 January 1930)
Biggest win
Japan  44–1  Kuwait
(Gangneung, South Korea; 30 January 1999)
Biggest defeat
Czechoslovakia  25–1  Japan
(Moscow, Soviet Union; 4 March 1957)
Olympics
Appearances8 (first in 1936)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances47 (first in 1930)
Best result8th (1930, 1957)
Asian Winter Games
Appearances8 (first in 1986)
Best result Gold (2003, 2007) Silver (1986, 1990, 1996, 1999, 2011) Bronze (2017)
International record (W–L–T)
291–391–49

The Japanese national ice hockey team (Japanese: アイスホッケー男子日本代表 Aisuhokkē Danshi Nippon Daihyō) is the national men's ice hockey of Japan. They are controlled by the Japan Ice Hockey Federation and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Japan is currently ranked 23rd in the rankings and currently compete in the IIHF World Championship Division I. They have competed in eight Olympic Games competitions.

Tournament participation

Kenichi Furuya in the Japanese national team at 1936 Winter Olympics

Winter Olympics

  • 1936 – 9th place (tied)
  • 1960 – 8th place
  • 1964 – 11th place
  • 1968 – 10th place
  • 1972 – 9th place
  • 1976 – 9th place
  • 1980 – 12th place
  • 1998 – 13th place

World Championship

  • 1930 – Finished tied in 6th place
  • 1957 – Finished in 8th place
  • 1962 – Finished in 9th place (1st in "Pool B")
  • 1967 – Finished in 17th place (1st in "Pool C")
  • 1969 – Finished in 15th place (1st in "Pool C")
  • 1970 – Finished in 11th place (5th in "Pool B")
  • 1971 – Finished in 12th place (6th in "Pool B")
  • 1972 – Finished in 11th place (5th in "Pool B")
  • 1973 – Finished in 12th place (6th in "Pool B")
  • 1974 – Finished in 10th place (4th in "Pool B")
  • 1975 – Finished in 12th place (6th in "Pool B")
  • 1976 – Finished in 10th place (2nd in "Pool B")
  • 1977 – Finished in 11th place (3rd in "Pool B")
  • 1978 – Finished in 10th place (2nd in "Pool B")
  • 1979 – Finished in 14th place (6th in "Pool B")
  • 1981 – Finished in 16th place (8th in "Pool B")
  • 1982 – Finished in 17th place (1st in "Pool C")
  • 1983 – Finished in 13th place (5th in "Pool B")
  • 1985 – Finished in 13th place (5th in "Pool B")
  • 1986 – Finished in 15th place (8th in "Pool B")
  • 1987 – Finished in 17th place (1st in "Pool C")
  • 1989 – Finished in 15th place (7th in "Pool B")
  • 1990 – Finished in 15th place (7th in "Pool B")
  • 1991 – Finished in 16th place (8th in "Pool B")
  • 1992 – Finished in 15th place (3rd in "Pool B")
  • 1993 – Finished in 17th place (5th in "Pool B")
  • 1994 – Finished in 16th place (4th in "Pool B")
  • 1995 – Finished in 18th place (6th in "Pool B")
  • 1996 – Finished in 20th place (8th in "Pool B")
  • 1997 – Finished in 24th place (4th in "Pool C")
  • 1998 – Finished in 14th place
  • 1999 – Finished in 16th place
  • 2000 – Finished in 16th place
  • 2001 – Finished in 16th place
  • 2002 – Finished in 16th place
  • 2003 – Finished in 16th place
  • 2004 – Finished in 15th place
  • 2005 – Finished in 24th place (4th in Division I, Group A)
  • 2006 – Finished in 22nd place (3rd in Division I, Group A)
  • 2007 – Finished in 22nd place (3rd in Division I, Group B)
  • 2008 – Finished in 21st place (3rd in Division I, Group B)
  • 2009 – Finished in 21st place (3rd in Division I, Group A)
  • 2010 – Finished in 21st place (3rd in Division I, Group A)
  • 2011 – Withdrew from tournament citing the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake; remained in Group A
  • 2012 – Finished in 20th place (4th in Division I, Group A)
  • 2013 – Finished in 20th place (4th in Division I, Group A)
  • 2014 – Finished in 19th place (3rd in Division I, Group A)
  • 2015 – Finished in 20th place (4th in Division I, Group A)
  • 2016 – Finished in 22nd place (6th in Division I, Group A)
  • 2017 – Finished in 24th place (2nd in Division I, Group B)
  • 2018 – Finished in 24th place (2nd in Division I, Group B)
  • 2019 – Finished in 25th place (3rd in Division I, Group B)
  • 2020 – Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[2]
  • 2021 – Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[3]
  • 2022 – Finished in 22nd place (2nd in Division I, Group B)
  • 2023 – Finished in 23rd place (1st in Division I, Group B)
  • 2024 – Finished in 21st place (5th in Division I, Group A)

Asian Winter Games

  • 1986 – Finished in 2nd place
  • 1990 – Finished in 2nd place
  • 1996 – Finished in 2nd place
  • 1999 – Finished in 2nd place
  • 2003 – Finished in 1st place
  • 2007 – Finished in 1st place
  • 2011 – Finished in 2nd place
  • 2017 – Finished in 3rd place
  • 2025 –

Honours

Notable coaches

All-time record against other nations

As of 14 April 2023[5]

Team GP W T L GF GA
 China 31 25 2 4 221 71
 Denmark 33 19 1 13 146 108
 South Korea 27 20 1 6 176 54
 Serbia/
 Yugoslavia		 32 16 2 14 131 128
 Norway 36 13 7 16 123 151
 Netherlands 30 17 4 9 156 90
 Romania 29 17 1 11 134 105
 Austria 39 13 4 22 123 151
 France 29 11 1 17 98 117
 North Korea 11 11 0 0 93 19
 Hungary 31 15 0 16 106 87
  Switzerland 31 9 3 19 93 141
 Bulgaria 11 8 0 3 66 29
 Italy 33 10 3 20 86 122
 Australia 8 7 0 1 94 22
 Poland 44 6 2 36 100 221
 Great Britain 14 6 1 7 34 41
 Lithuania 9 7 0 2 26 12
 Canada 40 1 3 36 76 218
 East Germany 16 3 1 12 45 89
 Kazakhstan 17 2 2 13 34 70
 Croatia 6 6 0 0 30 6
 Estonia 6 5 1 0 29 15
 Slovenia 18 5 1 12 35 61
 Kuwait 1 1 0 0 44 1
 Thailand 1 1 0 0 39 0
 Belgium 1 1 0 0 24 0
 Chinese Taipei 1 1 0 0 18 0
 Spain 1 1 0 0 11 2
 Israel 1 1 0 0 7 1
 Ukraine 16 8 2 6 39 42
 Belarus 7 1 1 5 14 27
 Finland 7 0 1 6 15 57
 Russia/
 Soviet Union		 10 0 0 10 24 117
 Czech Republic/
 Czechoslovakia		 13 0 0 13 22 139
 Sweden 4 0 0 4 1 44
 Slovakia 6 0 0 6 12 47
 Germany/
 West Germany		 18 2 0 16 41 102
 Latvia 11 0 0 11 22 70
 United States 8 0 0 8 20 77
Total 699 251 47 381 2651 2969

All-time record against other teams

As of 27 August 2016[5]

Team GP W T L GF GA
Canada Battleford Millers 2 0 0 2 2 33
Canada Victoria Navy 1 0 0 1 1 9
Pacific Coast Amateur League All Stars 1 0 0 1 9 10
Canada Nanaimo Labatts 1 0 0 1 5 10
Canada Chilliwack Volvos 1 0 0 1 4 9
Canada Powell River Regals 4 1 0 3 3 31
Canada Kamloops Cariboos 1 0 0 1 1 6
Canada Central Alberta Hockey League All Stars 1 0 0 1 2 17
Canada Lethbridge Maple Leafs 1 0 1 0 4 4
Canada Regina Caps 1 0 0 1 5 9
Canada Brandon Wheat Kings 1 1 0 0 8 6
Canada Winnipeg Maroons 1 0 0 1 4 11
Canada Kenora Thistles 2 1 0 1 9 16
Canada Thunder Bay Junior League All Stars 2 0 0 2 8 12
United States Minnesota Golden Gophers 1 0 0 1 3 7
Canada New Westminster Royals 2 2 0 0 18 6
Canada Chilliwack Steelheads 1 0 0 1 4 10
Canada Victoria Commercial League All Stars 1 1 0 0 8 5
Canada Nanaimo Clippers 1 0 0 1 5 7
United States Portland Royals 1 1 0 0 11 4
Canada Victoria Intermediate All Stars 1 1 0 0 6 5
Canada Lethbridge Sugar Kings 1 1 0 0 5 2
Canada Yorkton Terriers 1 0 0 1 3 12
Canada Saskatchewan Junior League All Stars 1 1 0 0 12 4
Canada Manitoba South Junior All Stars 1 0 0 1 2 7
Canada Kingston Merchants 1 1 0 0 7 6
Canada Halifax Canadiens 1 1 0 0 7 4
Canada Grand Falls Cataracts 1 0 0 1 3 7
Canada Bathurst Papermakers 1 1 0 0 4 3
Canada Manitoba North Junior All Stars 1 1 0 0 8 6
Canada North Peace River League All Stars 1 1 0 0 7 4
Canada Prince George Mohawks 1 1 0 0 8 7
Canada Penticton Broncos 1 1 0 0 6 5
 Finland B 4 1 0 3 1 16
 Czechoslovakia B 1 0 0 1 2 9
 USSR B 2 0 0 2 5 16
 West Germany U20 1 1 0 0 4 3
United States Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs 1 0 0 1 4 5
United States Western Michigan Broncos 1 0 0 1 4 9
Russia Spartak Moscow 1 0 0 1 2 13
Canada Saskatchewan Huskies 1 0 0 1 2 7
United States Michigan Tech Huskies 1 0 0 1 4 6
United States Alaska Gold Kings 1 1 0 0 4 1
Russia Amur Khabarovsk 15 1 1 13 13 60
 Sweden B 2 0 0 2 2 17
 Russia B 2 0 0 2 3 13
 Canada B 1 0 1 0 4 4
 Denmark B 1 0 0 1 1 4
Japan Japan All Stars 1 0 0 1 5 6
Finland Tappara 1 0 0 1 3 6
Finland TPS Turku 1 0 0 1 4 5
Sweden Malmö Redhawks 1 0 0 1 2 3
Germany Schwenninger Wild Wings 1 0 0 1 2 5
Switzerland EV Zug 1 1 0 0 5 2
Germany Krefeld Pinguine 1 0 0 1 2 7
Sweden Modo Hockey 1 0 0 1 3 4
Germany Augsburger Panther 2 0 0 2 3 6
Switzerland HC Lugano 1 1 0 0 5 2
  Switzerland B 2 1 0 1 4 9
China Qiqihar 2 0 0 2 5 22
Russia Khabarovsk 1 0 0 1 3 5
Czech Republic HC Pardubice 1 0 0 1 2 5
Canada Saint Georges Garaga 1 0 0 1 2 3
Canada Île-des-Chênes North Stars 1 1 0 0 4 1
Russia Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 1 0 1 3 6
Canada Mid-West Islanders 2 2 0 0 13 3
Slovakia HKm Zvolen 1 0 1 0 3 3
Germany Frankfurt Lions 1 0 1 0 2 2
Russia Amurskie Tigry 1 1 0 0 4 3
Russia PSK Sakhalin 1 1 0 0 4 1
Germany Straubing Tigers 1 0 0 1 1 3
Germany Kölner Haie 1 0 0 1 1 5
Germany Düsseldorfer EG 1 0 0 1 1 2
Total 106 30 5 71 347 608

See also

References

  1. ^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  2. ^ "IIHF cancels Division I tournaments". iihf.com. 17 March 2019.
  3. ^ "IIHF – IIHF Council announces more cancellations". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  4. ^ "2.128 Tsutomu Kawabuchi". Legends of Hockey. Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Japan-Men-All-Time-Results-1.pdf" (PDF). National Teams of Ice Hockey. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
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