Rugby union in Japan

Rugby union in Japan
Rugby union in Japan
	Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo (Japan v Wales, June 2013)
Country	Japan
Governing body	Japan Rugby Football Union
National team	Japan
Nicknames	Cherry Blossoms, Brave Blossoms
First played	1866, Yokohama
Registered players	122,598 (total); 53,416 (adult); 41,722 (teenage); 27,460 (pre-teenage)
Clubs	3,620
Club competitions
	Japan Rugby League One; Lixil Cup; All-Japan Rugby Football Championship; All-Japan University Rugby Championship;
International competitions
	Nations Championship; Pacific Nations Cup; Asian Rugby Championship; Asian Sevens Series; Asian Games Sevens; World Rugby competitions Rugby World Cup; Rugby World Cup Sevens; Sevens World Series; Women's Rugby World Cup; World Rugby Women's Sevens Series;
Audience records
Single match	66,999 Waseda University vs Meiji University (5 December 1952; National Stadium

Rugby union in Japan is a moderately popular sport. It is regarded as the third-largest team sport in the country, behind baseball and football. The sport was introduced into the country in the 19th century and has since led to Japan being a powerhouse of rugby in Asia. Japan has the fourth-largest population of rugby union players in the world at around 126,000, as well as 3,631 official rugby clubs. The Japan national team has qualified for every Rugby World Cup (RWC) since its inception in 1987, and, until 2027, was the only Asian team to have qualified for the tournament. The Japan men's national team achieved their highest World Rugby Ranking of 7th at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, for which they were the host nation, the first-ever Asian hosts of a Rugby World Cup.