Japan U20 Squad Named Ahead of March Training Camps
Japan’s U20 Head Coach Naoya Okubo has named a 40 strong training squad ahead of the team’s March training camps taking place in Kumagaya and Toyota City. Comprising 22 forwards and 18 backs, the squad is drawn from 13 universities spread throughout Japan. While 39 members of the squad play their rugby in Japan’s university competition, scrumhalf Raia Takashima joins the squad from Toyota Industries Shuttles, a club that competes in Division Two of Japan Rugby League One.
Of the universities from which the squad is drawn, Tokyo’s Meiji and Teikyo Universities provide the largest contingent with ten from Meiji and six from Teikyo. These two sides have dominated Japan’s National University competition in recent years with Teikyo having won the last three National University Championships, including the 60th anniversary of the competition last January, defeating Meiji 34-15 at Tokyo’s National Stadium.
The March training camps mark the start of a big year ahead for the Japan U20 side. The team will compete at the World Rugby U20 Trophy 2024 in Edinburgh, Scotland between July 2-17. Having been relegated from the U20 Championship following last year’s tournament in South Africa, Japan will be looking to put in a dominant performance as they seek promotion back to the top-level U20 competition.
Naoya Okubo, Japan U20 Team Head Coach commented:
“We’ve assembled a really strong and exciting U20 squad this year with talent and potential spread right across the group. It will be a big year for the team with World Rugby U20 Trophy in July. We want to perform to our very best with the target of promotion back to the U20 Championship in 2025. We have the players to achieve that, so now it’s all about focusing on our preparation and being in a position to select the best team from this group of outstanding young men.”
| Position | Name | University / Club | Height | Weight (kg) | DOB | |
| 1 | PR1 | Sosuke Hiyama | Meiji University | 176 | 107 | 2004/7/26 |
| 2 | PR1 | Jinnosuke Mori | Tenri University | 177 | 105 | 2004/1/14 |
| 3 | PR1 | Mutsuki Urade | Kinki University | 167 | 104 | 2005/1/17 |
| 4 | PR3 | Yuta Hatta | Kyoto Sangyo University | 185 | 112 | 2004/4/5 |
| 5 | PR3 | Towa Nunobiki | Teikyo University | 180 | 110 | 2004/11/17 |
| 6 | PR3 | Takumi Yamaguchi | Meiji University | 181 | 120 | 2005/3/29 |
| 7 | HO | Naoyoshi Kajikawa | Teikyo University | 172 | 97 | 2005/2/23 |
| 8 | HO | Soujiru Otsuka | Kwansei Gakuin University | 178 | 104 | 2004/7/5 |
| 9 | HO | Haruya Kerakawauchi | Teikyo University | 174 | 100 | 2004/9/15 |
| 10 | HO | Kenshin Shimizu | Waseda University | 178 | 104 | 2004/12/27 |
| 11 | LO | Aoi Omiya | Nihon University | 188 | 100 | 2004/9/14 |
| 12 | LO | Syota Kusuda | Kanto Gakuin University | 197 | 105 | 2004/8/1 |
| 13 | LO | Yotaro Monobe | Meiji University | 191 | 116 | 2004/9/28 |
| 14 | LO | Shuntaro Isobe | Tsukuba University | 190 | 110 | 2004/7/14 |
| 15 | LO | Tomonosuke Shiromaru | Tsukuba University | 185 | 106 | 2004/12/14 |
| 16 | LO | Chuka Ishibashi | Kyoto Sangyo University | 190 | 95 | 2004/4/10 |
| 17 | FL | Koki Kawagoe | Tenri University | 180 | 88 | 2004/5/23 |
| 18 | FL | Yoshiaki Taian | Tenri University | 176 | 92 | 2004/4/2 |
| 19 | FL/NO8 | Kotaro Ogawa | Meiji University | 187 | 102 | 2004/4/24 |
| 20 | FL/NO8 | Shusui Kamei | Meiji University | 191 | 84 | 2004/10/27 |
| 21 | FL/NO8 | Daichi Yoshikawa | Ritsumeikan University | 181 | 97 | 2004/4/13 |
| 22 | FL/NO8 | Tatsuya Fuji | Meiji University | 179 | 97 | 2005/2/8 |
| 23 | SH | Joji Takai | Kyoto Sangyo University | 164 | 70 | 2004/9/11 |
| 24 | SH | Raia Takashima | Toyota Industries Shuttles | 184 | 80 | 2005/3/23 |
| 25 | SH | Yamato Murata | Kyoto Sangyo University | 168 | 69 | 2004/10/15 |
| 26 | SH/SO | Rieto Ito | Meiji University | 173 | 74 | 2004/7/30 |
| 27 | SO | Takaya Motohashi | Teikyo University | 182 | 86 | 2004/5/19 |
| 28 | SO | Ryunosuke Ito | Meiji University | 170 | 76 | 2004/7/30 |
| 29 | SO/CTB | Shota Goto | Nihon University | 177 | 83 | 2004/4/11 |
| 30 | CTB | Yamato Udea | Teikyo University | 180 | 84 | 2005/3/8 |
| 31 | CTB | Taisei Nagai | Senshu University | 179 | 87 | 2004/11/13 |
| 32 | CTB | Sakuya Nakao | Fukuoka Institute of Technology | 182 | 91 | 2004/9/16 |
| 33 | CTB | Mirai Kishi | Kinki University | 180 | 85 | 2004/12/8 |
| 34 | CTB/WTB | Kento Iioka | Tsukuba University | 183 | 83 | 2004/8/12 |
| 35 | WTB | Ryotaro Miura | Ritsumeikan University | 182 | 89 | 2004/7/12 |
| 36 | WTB/FB | Kohaku Ebisawa | Meiji University | 173 | 79 | 2004/10/27 |
| 37 | WTB/FB | Yoshitaka Yazaki | Waseda University | 180 | 85 | 2004/5/12 |
| 38 | Utility | Tasuku Masuyama | Tsukuba University | 177 | 83 | 2004/4/14 |
| 39 | Utility | Jingo Takenoshita | Meiji University | 180 | 83 | 2004/6/11 |
| 40 | Utility | YusukeYoshida | Teikyo University | 185 | 90 | 2004/7/31 |