Sakura Fifteen Side Announced for Kazakhstan Match

The JRFU have announced the Sakura Fifteen team to face Kazakhstan in Round One of the 2026 Asia Rugby Emirates Women’s Championship in Almaty on Thursday, April 30. Kicking off at 16:00 local time, 20:00 JST, the match will be the first of three fixtures in the three-team, round-robin tournament that also features Hong Kong China. Japan head into the Championship looking to secure a record seventh consecutive title.

While the fixture will be a fully capped international, the new-look Japan coaching team led by Interim Head Coach, Toshizumi Kitagawa will use the opportunity to blood six uncapped players, alongside another four holding just 10 caps or less. This injection of youth is balanced by the inclusion of a core of experienced campaigners across the matchday 23, giving the side an average of 17 test caps per player. Being the first year in the current four-year Rugby World Cup cycle, the competition gives Japan a great platform in which to start bringing through the next wave of Sakura Fifteen test match talent.

Following their match against Kazakhstan, Japan will face Hong Kong China on Tuesday, May 5. The final match of the Championship sees Kazakhstan take on Hong Kong China on Sunday, May 10, with all fixtures taking place at Almaty Sport Complex. Kick off times for the first two matches are 16:00 local time, 20:00 JST, while the final match kicks off at 14:00 local time, 18:00 JST

Fans looking to catch every match of the Asia Rugby Emirates Women’s Championship can tune in live via Asia Rugby’s Facebook page or through the YouTube channel.

https://www.facebook.com/asia.rugby/https://www.youtube.com/c/asiarugbylive

https://www.youtube.com/c/asiarugbylive

Sakura Fifteen Team List

	Name	Team	Company	Height (cm)	Weight (kg)	DOB	Cap
1	Sachiko KATO	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	SECOM CO., LTD.	165	92	2000/2/19	33
2	Asuka KUGE	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	Goto Hygiene Consultant	164	77	1994/9/22	25
3	Miharu MACHIDA	Japan Univ. of Economics	Japan Univ. of Economics	173	95	2004/5/26	4
4	Mei OKUBO	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	Rissho Univ.	176	69	2004/4/19	0
5	Yuna SATO	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Sankyu Inc.	170	76	1998/9/11	27
6	Nduka　JENNIFER	Hokkaido Barbarians Diana	Medical System Network	168	75	2000/10/18	17
7	Sakurako KORAI	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Sankyu Inc.	166	67	2003/4/9	22
8	Mele Yua HAVILI KAGAWA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Medical Corporation Yokohama Mirai Healthcare System	171	74	2001/9/29	6
9	Moe TSUKUI (C)	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	LIBEST Corp.	153	54	2000/3/28	45
10	Sawa HARADA	Japan Univ. of Economics	Japan Univ. of Economics	165	63	2005/3/12	0
11	Komachi IMAKUGI	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	OKINAYA Co.,Ltd.	158	58	2002/1/6	33
12	Mana FURUTA	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	NTT Facilities Inc.	167	69	1997/11/16	39
13	Kanako KOBAYASHI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Shonan Kamakura General Hospital	163	68	1998/11/13	21
14	Rinka MATSUDA	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Toppan Inc.	171	77	2001/12/5	14
15	Sora NISHIMURA	MIE PEARLS	Choko Co.，Ltd.	167	67	2000/9/29	24
16	Moe NAGAOKA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Mitsubishi Jisho Property Management Co., Ltd.	163	67	1999/6/7	4
17	Nanako USHIJIMA	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Hinomaru Bus Corporation	163	77	2002/3/6	0
18	Juka　FUJI	YOKOHAMA TKM	TMG Head Office, Yokohama Branch	171	78	2001/1/22	0
19	Otoka YOSHIMURA	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	Saitamaken Shinkin Bank.	174	83	2001/5/15	32
20	Mio NISHIMURA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Totsuka Kyoritsu Medical Satellite Medical Check-up Center	168	85	2002/11/29	7
21	Suzuka　NAKASHIMA	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Sankyu Inc.	156	53	2002/6/19	0
22	Minori YAMAMOTO	YOKOHAMA TKM	Medical Corporation Yokohama Mirai Healthcare System	168	68	1996/12/9	41
23	Kanna HAYASHI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	SECOM CO., LTD.	166	65	2001/4/30	0

(c) Captain

2026 Asia Rugby Women’s Championship Fixtures

Round 1	THU 30 APR 16:00 KO (20:00 JST)	Kazakhstan vs Japan	Almaty Sport Complex
Round 2	TUE 5 MAY 16:00 KO (20:00 JST)	Hong Kong China vs Japan	Almaty Sport Complex
Round 3	SUN 10 MAY 14:00 KO (18:00 JST)	Kazakhstan v Hong Kong China	Almaty Sport Complex