Japan U20 Team Announced for USA Semi Final
The JRFU is happy to announce the Japan U20 side to face the USA in their 13th place Semi Final at the 2026 World Rugby Junior World Championships in Georgia this Sunday, July 12. Kicking off at 18:00 local time in Kutaisi, the match will play at 23:00 JST.
Japan come into the fixture following their 43-32 loss to Scotland in their final Pool B match, a result that has left them yet to record a victory at the tournament. However, the 11-point loss was a lot closer than the scoreline suggested, with Japan trailing by just four points in the final minutes of the match. Deep in attack and hammering away at the Scottish line in a desperate, last-ditch search for the match winning score, Scotland intercepted the ball to race away for an end-to-end try.
Head Coach Naoya Okubo has made several changes to the matchday-23 that will face the USA as he looks to rest and rotate players within the squad as he manages the gruelling tournament schedule that has just four rest days between each fixture.
Commenting ahead of the match, Japan U20 Head Coach Naoya Okubo said:
“Looking back to our last match against Scotland, we have definitely improved a lot since we last played them two years ago. While it was disappointing to get so close and not get the win, there were many aspects that we can be happy about. However, we’re by no means satisfied and we will channel this frustration into our game against the USA. I really want to see a strong performance by our forwards throughout the set piece in order to give as strong a platform as possible to our backs.”
Fans in Japan looking to catch the match live can tune in to J Sports Two from 22:50 JST on Sunday, July 12 or stream the match live or watch via catch-up through J Sports On-Demand.
Following their semi-final against the USA, Japan will contest their final play-off match to decide their final placing in the 16-team competition.
Running from June 27 to July 19, the 2026 World Rugby Junior World Championships brings together the world’s best U20 national teams to fight it out for the right to be crowned 2026 Junior World Champions.
| No. | Name | Club Team | Height (cm) | Weight(kg) | DOB |
| 1 | Songha RI | Doshisha Univ. | 178 | 103 | 2006/2/28 |
| 2 | Koshi TSUMURA | Teikyo Univ. | 176 | 96 | 2007/6/20 |
| 3 | Haruto SASAKI | Meiji Univ. | 176 | 111 | 2006/5/2 |
| 4 | Masato YANASE | Kwansei Gakuin Univ. | 184 | 102 | 2006/6/28 |
| 5 | Masato HYAKUTAKE | Meiji Univ. | 187 | 108 | 2006/4/24 |
| 6 | Riku FUJIKUBO | Teikyo Univ. | 181 | 100 | 2006/7/17 |
| 7 | Yuta OTABE | Chuo Univ. | 176 | 88 | 2008/4/1 |
| 8 | Akihiro TSUBONE (C) | Teikyo Univ. | 185 | 105 | 2006/3/14 |
| 9 | Soshi KATAOKA | Ritsumeikan Univ. | 172 | 70 | 2007/10/12 |
| 10 | Takeru NIWA | Doshisha Univ. | 172 | 75 | 2006/10/1 |
| 11 | Isa FUKADA | Tsukuba Univ. | 172 | 80 | 2006/12/12 |
| 12 | Tsunehidemichi FUKUDA | Teikyo Univ. | 171 | 76 | 2007/5/17 |
| 13 | Rio IWAKURA | Yamanashi Gakuin Univ. | 177 | 90 | 2006/8/5 |
| 14 | Shinnosuke UCHIDA | Tsukuba Univ. | 167 | 73 | 2006/7/6 |
| 15 | Ryuto KOGA | Meiji Univ. | 184 | 86 | 2006/7/17 |
| 16 | Sota MIURA | Teikyo Univ. | 177 | 102 | 2006/10/2 |
| 17 | Keigo ARUGA | Teikyo Univ. | 171 | 102 | 2006/7/18 |
| 18 | Keitatsu MOTOYAMA | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | 188 | 113 | 2006/12/26 |
| 19 | Yuga ICHIKAWA | Aoyama Gakuin Univ. | 190 | 105 | 2007/6/4 |
| 20 | Chikara FUKUDA | Kwansei Gakuin Univ. | 178 | 100 | 2006/11/28 |
| 21 | Kohaku SUDA | Hosei Univ. | 172 | 78 | 2007/12/14 |
| 22 | Yura MORIOKA | Aoyama Gakuin Univ. | 178 | 81 | 2007/6/16 |
| 23 | Gentaro SAKATA | Kindai Univ. | 172 | 72 | 2008/1/23 |
(C) Captain