Akatsuki Japan girls emphasize successful year with top 10 placement in World Rankings

BEIRUT (Lebanon) - Japan continues to solidify itself as one of the best women's basketball nations in Asia and the world, as they were ranked 9th in the latest update of the FIBA World Ranking Girls, presented by Nike.

The women of Akatsuki Japan, are now the only Asian national team in the Top 10 of both World Ranking Women and Girls, with the senior team also ranked 9th.

The update of the ranking well captures the success of the youth national team program over the past year.

Japan reached the Quarter-Finals of the U19 Women's Basketball World Cup for the 6th time, also ending up with a final standing at 6th place - their second-best result ever in the competition.

At the U16 Women's Asian Championship, Japan continued their streak of making it to the Final of all editions of the competition so far, making it their 7th consecutive appearance in the title game.

This update marks the second time Japan have cracked into the Top 10 of the World Ranking Girls after reaching 7th in the update after 1 January, 2022.

The upcoming year in 2024 can potentially be a year that Japan makes another leap forward. Because of their result at the U16 Women's Asian Championship, Japan are qualified for the U17 Women's Basketball World Cup 2024 which will be played in Mexico from 13-21 July 2024. Japan have played in all 6 previous editions, making the Quarter-Finals on 5 occasions including a Semi-Finals appearance in 2012.

FIBA