In terms of timing, the 2020/21 club season has just ended and the national team's activities have just begun, but there has been some information circulating about transfers of Japanese players for next season, so I would like to provide a brief update on this.
Yuki Ishikawa → Milan (Italy) Contract renewal
Photo by FIVB
Yuki Ishikawa, Japan's ace in both name and reality, will continue to play for Milan as he did last season. The official announcement was made just yesterday (May 14th).
This marks Ishikawa's seventh season in Serie A with Milan. He has become a player who is completely expected to be in Serie A. In recent years, he has been performing remarkably in Serie A, has earned the trust of his team, and has won the MVP award many times. A transfer to a big club such as Perugia or Civitanova is becoming more and more realistic.
Last season, Milan finished 8th in the regular season, and 6th after the playoffs, a disappointing result in Serie A. However, they did win the CEV Challenge Cup, organized by the European Federation of European Soccer Federations, and took home the title. This was also Ishikawa's first title in his professional career.
Although the team will not be eligible to play in European leagues next season, most of the main players, including opposite hitter Patry (France) and setter Sbertoli (Italy), are expected to remain. In addition, outside hitter Jaskier (USA), who will likely play opposite Ishikawa, and young middle hitter Sinegnese (France), who is expected to grow, are expected to join the team as transfer players.
I hope they will do their best next season and aim for the top four or better!
Nishida Yuji → Transferred to Vibo Valencia (Italy)
Photo by FIVB
There was some speculation when JTEKT announced the acquisition of Miyaura (Waseda University graduate), who is also an opposite player, as a prospective player, but now it seems that Nishida will also be taking on the challenge of going overseas, and in the top Italian Serie A right away.HereEtc. There has been no official announcement yet, but it's safe to say that it's almost certain. The day will come when a 186cm Japanese opposite will be born in Serie A! His performance in the 2019 World Cup certainly stunned the world. It seems that Nishida is more popular than Ishikawa worldwide. The FIVB is also clearly pushing Nishida (lol).
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Vibo Valencia, where Nishida will be playing, is the only southern Italian team in Serie A. The city is located right at the top of the boot. In Italy, the north is generally more economically prosperous than the south, so there are many top clubs in northern Italy. Last season, the team finished in 5th place in the regular season, but suffered consecutive losses in the playoffs and ended the season in 12th place, the last place in the league.
However, it seems that they will be completely revamping their team starting with Nishida next season, and they are also planning to acquire three other players from the Brazilian national team at once (Mauricio and Dougas on the outside, and Flavio in the middle). With the power of Nishida and the Canary Islands team, I hope they will make a big leap next season!
But following the Japanese showdown in the Polish League three seasons ago (Koga vs Yanagida), the day has finally come when we can see a Japanese showdown in Serie A... Just imagining it is so exciting!!! Personally, I have never been to Southern Italy, so I would love to see a Japanese showdown live at Vibo Valencia next season! I just hope that the COVID-19 situation will have calmed down by then.
*Added on 8/10 The official announcement has finally been made! I can't wait for next season's Serie A! What's more, next season will be available on Volleyball TV, so the viewing environment will be great! I'll write more about this as soon as I know the details!
Sekita Masahiro → Rubin (Poland) transfer
Photo by FIVB
And the news about this player was surprising. He may have had a plan when he left Panasonic, but after three years of experience in Sakai, he is finally making his overseas debut. Source:Here.
Rubin is a Polish club team that Japanese player Yanagida also belonged to in the 2018/19 season. Last season's performance in the Polish league was not good, ranking 11th out of 14 teams. The team has not yet decided on any reinforcements other than Sekita, so it is still difficult to say anything. However, it seems that the opposite Siemens (Columbia), who supported the team this season, will stay next season, so I think that's good. In the 2017/18 season, they were 7th, but since then they have been 11th and 12th, so I would be happy if Sekita's transfer is the key to turning around this situation for the team. As a Polish fan, I hope he does his best. If possible, I hope he will play in the Polish league for multiple years like Koga.
By the way, a team from Lublin, which was promoted from the lower league, will also be participating in the Polish league next season. "Lubin" and "Lublin" are very similar, so please do not confuse them (lol). The latter Lublin is the one that is often featured in Polish tourist brochures.
summary
So, in the 2021/22 season, Ishikawa and Nishida will play in the Italian Serie A, and Sekita will play in the Polish Prsliga. There are other players, such as Yanagida and Ide, who are likely to play in overseas leagues in Europe, so I will add more information as soon as I have it.
It's still early, but I'm already looking forward to the next club season!
English 
Japanese