Basketball - Team Japan

General
Japan have competed at all 12 editions of the Asian Games in which women's basketball was part of the programme. Their record at the Games includes 10 podium finishes, the first of which was gold at the inaugural tournament in 1974 in Tehran where they won all four of their matches in a five-team round-robin competition. They were also gold medallists at the 1998 Games in Bangkok following victory over the People's Republic of China in the final, but they had to settle for bronze at the four editions of the Asian Games between 2006 and 2018.

Drawn in Group Y in 2018 in Indonesia, victories over Thailand, Mongolia, and Hong Kong, China, as well as a defeat to the People's Republic of China, were enough for the Japanese team to progress to the knockout stage. They breezed past Kazakhstan in the last eight, winning 104-57, but suffered their second defeat to the Chinese team at the tournament in the semifinals, going down 86-74. A 76-63 win over Chinese Taipei in the bronze medal match secured their place on the podium.

Japan claimed the Asia Cup title at all five editions of the tournament between 2013 and 2021. They defeated the People's Republic of China in the final three times during that run [2015, 2019, 2021], and also beat the Republic of Korea in 2013 and the Australians by a single point [74-73] in 2017. Their only other title at the Asia Cup came back in 1970. Most recently, the Chinese team edged out Japan 73-71 in the final of the 2023 Asia Cup in Australia.

The Japanese team were silver medallists at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, losing the final to the United States of America. They were ranked ninth at the 2022 World Cup in Australia after winning only one of five group games [against Mali].