Ryujin Nippon will start preparations for VNL 2022 next week under the slogan ‘All for Paris 24’
Ran Takahashi and Yuki Ishikawa in action during VNL 2021
Japan’s new head coach, Frenchman Philippe Blain will rely on a roster of 35 athletes to start preparations ahead of the men’s national team’s new season.
Ryujin Nippon are set to embark on another quest in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League to get the 2022 season underway. Later in the year, they will also participate in the 2022 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship.
“‘All for Paris 24’ is the slogan leading us through the next three years as the top-priority goal,” coach Blain said. “It is also my personal goal to achieve my fifth Olympic participation in my home country France. I am really looking forward to starting this new adventure, but I recognise the difficulties that face us. It is very important to achieve good results in both the VNL and the World Championship. We are aiming at the top 10 in the FIVB World Ranking.”
Blain, who was the team’s assistant coach during the previous Olympic cycle through the Tokyo 2020 Games last summer, has called upon 10 of the 12 players who represented the host nation in the Japanese capital, including established or up-and-coming stars like outside hitter and captain Yuki Ishikawa, opposite Yuji Nishida, outside Ran Takahashi, middle blocker Taishi Onodera or setter Masahiro Sekita. The roster also includes 15 national team rookies.
“This team is set to achieve results at the Paris 2024 Olympics,” said captain Ishikawa. “I think it is very important for all players regardless of whether they participated in the Tokyo Olympics. From now on, we will share the same goal and the team will work as one to push forward.”
The first training camp will start in Shizuoka on April 14. From April 26 through May 22, the national team will continue their preparations in Tokyo, before travelling to Italy for a six-day camp and then to Brazil a few days before the start of their VNL campaign in Brasilia. In addition to more training camps in Japan and Italy between the VNL and the World Championship, in August they will also participate in the traditional annual Hubert Wagner Memorial tournament in Poland.
Japan men’s national team full roster:
Setters: Akihiro Fukatsu, Hiroki Iro, Masahiro Sekita, Masaki Oya, Motoki Eiro, Shunsuke Nakamura, Takahiro Shin
Opposites: Issei Otake, Kenta Koga, Kento Miyaura, Yuji Nishida
Outside hitters: Akito Yamazaki, Hiroaki Maki, Kenta Takanashi, Kenyu Najamoto, Ran Takahashi, Shoma Tomita, Tatsunori Otsuka, Yuga Tarumi, Yuki Higuchi, Yuki Ishikawa
Middle blockers: Akihiro Yamauchi, Go Murayama, Haku Ri, Keitaro Nishikawa, Kentaro Takahashi, Kento Asano, Larry Ebade-Dan, Masato Kai, Shunichiro Sato, Taishi Onodera
Liberos: Kazuyuki Takahashi, Soshi Fujinaka, Tomohiro Ogawa, Tomohiro Yamamoto
“The ‘All for Paris 24’ slogan has the following meanings: a sense of ownership for all players involved in this project for the next three years; constant determination to grow all our technical, mental and tactical qualities; ambition and play with great determination in every single match; and sharing your adventures and get the support of all volleyball enthusiasts, including leaders, coaches and trainers, players, media, sponsors and fans.”
Philippe Blain, head coach of Japan
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