Rugby Sevens - Team Japan

General
In 2018 Japan's dominance at the Asian Games ended when they were defeated 14-0 by Hong Kong, China in the gold medal match. The Japanese team had won the previous three gold medals, beating Hong Kong, China in the final in 2010 and 2014 and the Republic of Korea at the 2006 Games. They are the only rugby sevens team with three Asian Games gold medals and have only failed to win a medal on one of their six appearances, finishing fourth in 2002.

Japan and Hong Kong, China have been the two dominant forces in the Asian Series, with the teams winning five titles each since 2012. Japan won the tournament in three consecutive years between 2017 and 2019, but Hong Kong, China were victorious at the next two editions in 2021 and 2022. The Japanese team fell to a ranking of fourth in the 2022 series [their lowest finish since 2016], which included defeats to Hong Kong, China in the final in Thailand and in the semifinals in the United Arab Emirates.

Japan made their second Olympic appearance on home soil at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. After defeats to Fiji, Great Britain, Canada, and Kenya, they overcame the Republic of Korea to rank 11th out of 12 teams. The Japanese team were one of the surprises of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, where they made an impressive run to the semifinals and placed fourth overall after a bronze medal match loss to South Africa.

In the World Series, the team placed joint-12th at the inaugural event in 1999/00 but did not rank higher than 15th between the 2011/12 and 2022/23 seasons. They also did not make a serious impact at the World Cup in seven appearances at the tournament between 1993 and 2018. At the 2018 edition, the Japanese side were beaten 35-10 by Fiji in the round of 16.