Qualified Team Focus. Japan: Can they re-discover their Tokyo 2020 form?

MIES (Switzerland) - The Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024 lineup is now known and with the game schedule also confirmed, we're checking out the 12 nations bidding for glory at Paris 2024.

We're now moving on to Japan, who are the ninth placed nation in the FIBA World Ranking Women, presented by Nike.

How they qualified

Japan rode an exciting roller-coaster at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in Sopron, Hungary as they opened up with a vibrant victory against Spain, only to fall to a surprise defeat against hosts Hungary. They then finished with a 2-1 record by beating Canada in a must-win game on day three of the competition. 

Record at the Olympics

Appearances: 6 - 1976 (5th); 1996 (7th); 2004 (10th); 2016 (8th); 2020 (2nd); 2024
Medals: 1 -🥈(2020)

Last appearance 

Japan will never forget their fairytale ride to a first ever Olympic Final as the host nation of Tokyo 2020. Not only did they take a medal for the first time and compete in the title game for the first time, they won an army of admirers for their breathtaking brand of basketball.

Their transition and three-point shooting was sensational as they took the second podium step, eventually being out-muscled by USA and their standout center, Brittney Griner. 

The Group phase 

Japan will play in the 'Group of Death' at Paris 2024 and that means they will feature in some of the top five games to watch as they open with a replay of the last Olympic Final against USA, while also meeting Belgium in a repeat of that stunning Quarter-Final in Tokyo when they won 86-85, The Akatsuki Five will also matchup against debutantes, Germany.

Japan Group Phase games

vs USA (July 29)
vs Germany (August 1)
vs Belgium (August 4)

Players to watch

During the past 18 months or so, a new star has been born for Japan, with guard Mai Yamamoto excelling at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2023 and then being crowned MVP in Sopron back in February. The backcourt will also contain Saori Miyazaki and Saki Hayashi.

Other ballers to watch are sisters Evelyn and Stephanie Mawuli, since both forwards are game-winners on any given day. Maki Takada is so often a super captain and presence in the paint alongside the defense of Himawari Akaho.

Qualified Team Focus series

During coming weeks and months, we will continue to check out all teams ready to step out at Paris 2024 as part of our Qualified Team Focus series. You can already take a look at USA, China, Australia, Spain, Canada, Belgium and France.

FIBA