Cricket is a minor sport in Japan. It was introduced to the country by the British, with the first match played in 1863 and the first club formed in 1868, both in Yokohama. Until the 1980s, it was played almost exclusively by expatriates. The sport's governing body is the Japan Cricket Association (JCA), which was formed in 1984 and has been a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1989, initially as an affiliate member and then as an associate member from 2005.
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History
The first cricket match in Japan was played on 25 June 1863. British merchants at the foreign settlement in Yokohama (a treaty port) challenged sailors on a Royal Navy ship to a game. The invitation was a ploy to ensure that the merchant community would be protected in the case of an ambush from local samurai, as they had been warned of a planned attack on that date. The participants in the match carried revolvers and rifles to ensure their safety, although no attack eventuated. The first cricket club in Japan was the Yokohama Cricket Club, which was formed in 1868 by a Scotsman, James Mollison.
Throughout most of the 20th century, the only cricket played in Japan was between the expatriate communities in Yokohama and Kobe. However, in the 1980s, cricket was introduced into several universities, by Japanese students who had learned the game in other countries. The Japan Cricket Association (JCA) was formed in 1984, and became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1989, and an affiliate member of the International Women's Cricket Council (IWCC) in 1995. The first major international tournament for the national men's team was the 1996 ACC Trophy in Malaysia, while the national women's team made its debut at the 2003 IWCC Trophy in the Netherlands. Club cricket in Japan was originally played over two days, with limited-overs league only being established in 1999.
Venues
The headquarters of the Japan Cricket Association (JCA) are in Sano, a city in Tochigi Prefecture, Honshu. The Sano International Cricket Ground is the primary venue for cricket in Japan, and hosts regular men's and women's international tournaments. In March 2016, plans were announced to bring the ground up to the standards required to host One Day International (ODI) matches, with the installation of floodlights, the construction of a new pavilion Outside of Sano, the Fujigawa Green Park Cricket Ground in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, hosted the 2004 East Asia-Pacific Cricket Challenge (part of the 2007 World Cup qualifying process), which featured the national teams of Japan, Fiji, Indonesia, and Tonga.
Demographics
In July 2016, it was estimated that cricket was played in Japan by 3,000 people across 200 teams. Until the 1980s, almost all cricket in Japan was played by foreigners.
Notable players
Fourteen women have represented Japan in One Day International (ODI) cricket, all at the 2003 IWCC Trophy. The national men's team has not come close to reaching the same level of play.
At least four male first-class cricketers are known to have been born in Japan, all of whom were of British descent: