Sano, Samurai and a game of rock, paper, scissors: Japan's World Cup journey

By Daniel Beswick

An hour before they take on their opponent, Japan’s cricket team is split in half.

The call of battle for Honki Janken cries out, and each player finds their closest teammate. Eyes locked, filled with rage, one-versus-one, and on the count of three, a decision is made with no hesitation.

Rock, paper, or scissors?

It’s a game of no half measures. Winners, who go on one team for fielding drills and games, celebrate like they’ve already won the World Cup. Losers join together on the other, acting as if they want the ground to swallow them whole.

If that is the energy in the warm-up, imagine them playing for World Cup glory.

“I think we definitely (value) the ideology of fighting to the end, it began in the Shogun and Samurai era,” Kazuma Kato-Stafford, who for the record likes to go with rock, tells Crystal Arnold and ICC Digital ahead of the World Cup.

“Never giving up under any circumstances. I think that's something that we definitely try and play with.

“It doesn't matter what the scenario is, whether we're going really well, we're going really poor, making sure we're always giving our best until the very end of the game.

“That’s something that we try to incorporate into our game, and something that is a very big part of Japanese identity.”

Japan celebrate U19 World Cup 2026 qualification in Sano back in April 2025.

With a shout of “Dosukoi” after every boundary (a word brought over by sumo wrestlers with no translation but likened to an explosion of power), the men in pink and blue were undefeated and untouched in qualification, a step above Fiji and Papua New Guinea in Sano.

Now aiming to go one better than the Japan Under-19 class of 2020 who went winless, the group of 2026 is ready to represent the cherry blossoms of their country instead of shrinking violets.

There has been a quiet push in the game in Japan, future-proofed through its facilities at the Sano International Cricket Ground, shrewd decisions in its backrooms, and an assured style of play on the turf wickets about a two-hour drive from Tokyo.

At the foot of Mount Karasawa in the Tochigi Prefecture, cricket has found a home in Sano, a sleepy city of just over 100,000 people. The town mascot, Sanomaru, who also wears a ramen bowl for a hat, has been seen wielding a cricket bat like a sword promoting the game at a local train station.

The base is a hotbed for cricket development, and arguably the benchmark for Associates in the East Asia-Pacific region. Though no doubt boosted through the game’s Olympic inclusion and a focus from their national Olympic committee, Japan Cricket would be nothing without the scores of people who have dedicated their lives to the sport in the country.

It’s not uncommon for players to make a three hour trip just for a club game on a Saturday, and the country now has recognised cricket as West as Okinawa, and as North and East as the island of Hokkaido.

Though it is Sano where the cogs truly turn. The Japan Cricket Association has turned an abandoned high school into a high class facility, transforming the hall into a gym and indoor nets, while classrooms have been converted to offices, induction rooms and commentary boxes.

Streams are available in both English and Japanese, and for patrons there is the tea room, with its walls inside showing off history and memorabilia of the Japanese game, and its balcony overlooking the grounds where the next chapters are written.

The meat pies available are a nod to the Australian influence over the years, though it has been the teamwork of both locals and those who have moved from afar that has meant the operation is greater than the sum of its parts.

A view of the Sano International Cricket Ground Tea Room.

The quality on the field has elevated as a result, bolstered further with an entry too to the Asia Cricket Council.

An increase in match action has led to men’s and women’s senior teams enjoying steady rises in their T20I Rankings, and the Japan Premier League, pitting together over 50 of the best players eligible for Japan and a sprinkling of Australian Big Bash talent as marquee players, has collectively strengthened the eltie pool on top of 7000 club cricketers.

Come September, Japan will host cricket at the Asian Games, where a new facility in Nagoya will showcase some of the best players in the region on the hunt for medals.

Backed by all this progress, and pushed by a coaching team boasting senior men’s international experience, the 2026 are better-placed than their counterparts from six years ago. Captain Kato-Stafford is the most-experienced U19 international the country has seen, and boasts a dozen T20Is for the senior national team already.

Charlie Hara-Hinze, Player of the Tournament at the Qualifier, has 33 wickets at an economy of 5.13 in 29 senior T20Is alongside some vital runs.

Kato-Stafford tips Charlie, who also has the wicket of India’s Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on his resume, to enjoy a fine tournament.

“He's already well and truly part of the men's team. Unbelievable left-arm offie, an excellent fielder. Just every aspect of his game is just top class,” the skipper continues.

“I think he's someone who's a real competitor as well. Doesn't like to lose, always fights until the end. And he's really got that winning sort of spirit in him, and he's very, very skilful.”

The pair are by no means the only players to watch. Leg-spinning all-rounder Nihar Parmar and Kaisei Kobayashi-Doggett boast multiple hundreds in Japan U19 colours. Nikhil Pol has power at the top of the order, while off-spinning all-rounder Hugo Tani-Kelly could enjoy conditions in Southern Africa.

Charlie has a pair of younger brothers (twins Gabby and Monty) in the group, and the exposure of cricket to the Sano area has led to the emergence of two players in the squad from the area in Ryuki Ozeki and Chihaya Sekine.

Proud Sano local Ryuki Ozeki interviewed on local television during the Qualifier.

Though perhaps the most encouraging part of this campaign may not be the results, but rather the lessons taken on for a youthful group.

Eight of the 15 players are eligible again for the next edition, though Kato-Stafford, who bows out as an Under-19 international after this tournament, insists the side won’t be thinking about 2028.

“We're a young team, but we're a competitive team.

“A lot of us don't like losing. We really like to compete. We really like to put our best foot forward under any circumstances, and we really like to fight until the end. 


“Even though we are a team that is fairly young in comparison, I think we're very motivated to put our best foot forward, and really try our hardest under any circumstances.”

The team's qualification making the newspapers.

The Japan team has ties with all three teams in their group. A partnership between 17 January opponents Sri Lanka has meant touring teams have visited each other, while a number of Japan’s players are based in Australia, who they play on January 20.

Sydney-based Kobayashi-Doggett meanwhile has club teammates in two of the sides he faces in Namibia, set to meet Alex Lee Young keeping wicket for Australia, as well Ireland’s Adam Leckey in their match on January 22.

There’s also a rematch of sorts for Australian coach Tim Nielsen, who faced the Japanese at the East Asia-Pacific Qualifier while in charge of Papua New Guinea.

Ahead of the first match, Kato-Stafford provided a glimpse of the final words he will utter to the group as they run out.

“I think I'll be saying to the boys, ‘We're at a World Cup! Sure, it's something that we're gonna cherish for the rest of our lives, but we got to go out there and enjoy ourselves, boys’.

“You play cricket because it's fun,
and I think with a lot of these younger guys, (it’s about) just making sure that they know we're playing sport. Let's make sure we're still enjoying it.

“Obviously it's a World Cup, and we're playing against the good teams, so we need to be switched on in the field, but I think just making sure that the boys cherish that moment, and not stress themselves out too much.”