The Japanese men's volleyball team, also known as Ryujin Nippon, ended the 2023 season on a high by qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
In this article, we will introduce the Japanese male volleyball players and their clubs who will be playing for European club teams in the upcoming 2023/24 club season, as well as how to watch each match.
The level of European leagues
Before introducing the players, I will give a brief explanation of the level of each European league.
Even when we simply refer to them as "overseas leagues" or "European volleyball," the situation and the level of the games vary greatly from country to country.
To make this easier to understand, we have roughly ranked the strength of each league.
S rank
- Italy(Ishikawa/Takahashi Ai/Taniguchi)
- Poland(Takahashi Sho)
- Russia
These three are by far the most highly competitive. You could even say that they are the destinations that all professional volleyball players aspire to.
A rank
- Türkiye
- Germany(Castle construction/Nose)
- France(Miyaura)
In Turkey and Germany, the top teams can compete with teams in the S-rank league, but there is a huge difference in strength between the top and bottom teams. On the other hand, the French league does not have any outstanding clubs, but the strength of each club is comparable.
Personally, I think the level of Japan's V League is around this level (of course, the height of the blocks is completely different).
B rank
- Belgium
- Romania(Yamamoto)
- Czech Republic(Imamura)
- Greece
etc.
I don't have much knowledge of the league situation below this level, but my impression is that Belgium and Greece have leagues with a large gap between the top and bottom teams, while Romania and the Czech Republic have fairly close leagues.
Player Profile
Yuki Ishikawa
Outside hitter 191cm 27 years old
Affiliation: Power Valley Milano (Italy)
This year will be Ishikawa's ninth season in the Italian League. Last season, the club made it to the semi-finals in both the cup and league matches, achieving the best results in the club's history, but was one win away from making it to the finals. This season, "championship contractor" Matej Kaziski (OH, Bulgaria), who also played for Japan's JTEKT, has joined the team, and they will be facing off against Ishikawa at OH, aiming to make the club's first final appearance and win the title.
Ai Takahashi
Outside hitter 188cm 22 years old
Affiliation: VeloValley Monza (Italy)
This season, he transferred from Padua, where he spent two seasons, to Monza, which is also in the Italian league. The level of his teammates has risen and the club has the potential to advance to the top, so this season we may see a showdown between Ishikawa and the other Japanese player, not only in the league but also in the playoffs. Competing for a starting spot will be Marr and Lepke, both outside hitters for the Canadian national team, but with their top-level defensive skills and stability in the Italian league, they are expected to play an important role as the core of this team.
Wataru Taniguchi
Libero 175cm 26 years old
Affiliation: Pallavoro Padua (Italy)
Taniguchi joined Padova in place of Takahashi Ai. He is on loan from the Tokyo Great Bears. He is probably the first player to play in the Italian top league without playing for the Japanese national team. Personally, I was quite surprised. The libero position is played by Zenger from Germany, who played alongside Takahashi Ai last season, so I think his playing time will be limited. Still, I hope he will do his best as the fourth Japanese player for Padova, following Koshikawa Yu, Ishikawa Yuki, and Takahashi Ai.
Takahashi Sho
Libero 171cm 28 years old
Affiliation: Exact Systems Hemalpol Czestochowa (Poland)
The libero led the club to victory in the second division last season and will be playing in Poland's top league from this season. He is the fifth Japanese player to play in the Polish league, following Koga Taichiro, Yanagida Masahiro, Sekita Masahiro, and Miyaura Kento. Although he has no experience playing in Japan's top league, he set his goal of "playing in Europe's top league" by creating a video of himself and selling it to club teams, and he has worked hard to achieve his dream in his fourth season in an overseas league. The Japanese volleyball world is full of "Takahashis" such as Ai, Kentaro, Yoshiho, and Kazuyuki, but please keep an eye on Poland's Show Takahashi as well.
Satoshi Tsukijo
Libero 174cm 31 years old
Affiliation: Berlin Recycling Valleys (Germany)
Tsuiki will be playing in Berlin for the fourth season in the German league, just like last season. Last season, he swept all domestic titles and was invincible in the German league, but he only made it to the quarterfinals of the European Champions League, so I hope he will aim to advance further in the Champions League this season. As an individual, he was registered for the Japanese national team this year, but unfortunately he was not selected for the final match, so I hope he will use that disappointment to get over that. However, he was injured before the start of the season, and it seems that he will not be able to play for the rest of the year. First of all, he will focus on his treatment, and I hope to see him in good health from next year.
Shohei Nose
Libero 170cm 30 years old
Affiliation: SWD Power Valleys Düren (Germany)
Like Taniguchi, Nose has been loaned to Germany from the Tokyo Great Bears. He has previously played in Israel and Finland, and this is his third team in an overseas league. The German League's Super Cup is already underway, and Nose has started in the starting lineup. There will be a Japanese libero showdown in the German league against Tsuiki, but Duren will also be participating in the CEV Cup, so we may also see a showdown between Ishikawa and Milan.
Kento Miyaura
Opposite 190cm 24 years old
Affiliation: Paris Volleyball (France)
Last season he played in the Polish League, but this season he moved to Paris Volleyball in the French League in search of playing time. This year he had a big impact with the Japanese national team, and we expect him to have a similar impact in the French League. In the preseason match the other day, he already showed a good combination with setter Motta Paes (France) and scored a lot of points. He himself said that he "want to return to Poland again," so we hope that he will perform well here and return to Poland as a starting opposite next season.
Ryu Yamamoto
Setter 185cm 23 years old
Club: Dinamo Bucharest (Romania)
Ryu Yamamoto was on the bench for the Paris Olympics qualifiers and is currently the leading candidate for the second setter position at the Paris Olympics. Last season, he played for Suntory as a prospective player, but made an unusual move to Romania without playing as a permanent player. This decision made me feel his determination as a professional volleyball player. Dinamo Bucharest is the team that libero Shunsuke Watanabe (currently with Toray) played for last season, and is a high-ranking team in the Romanian league. If he can achieve good results here, he will have a chance to step up to a team in a higher league, so I hope he will do his best.
Takahiko Imamura
Outside hitter 193cm 30 years old
Affiliation: Kladno-Voleival CZ (Czech Republic)
Imamura is on loan from the Panasonic Panthers to the Czech Republic this season. Many players who don't get many opportunities to play in the V League retire and focus on their company careers as they approach 30, but this is his first overseas transfer. Amazing. To be honest, I haven't seen much of his play since graduating from university, and I'm not very familiar with the Czech League, so I don't know what kind of season it will be, but I hope it will be a season that leads to the next one. Kladno has also decided to participate in the CEV Cup, so I'm looking forward to a Japanese showdown between Ishikawa's Milano and Nose's Duren. If it's a showdown with Ishikawa, it will be a showdown between Chuo University seniors and juniors!
Keisuke Matsuo
Libero 170cm 27 years old
Affiliation: Khulil Bulbul Shusha VC (Azerbaijan)
After playing for Oita Miyoshi, he played in Israel and Finland, and for his third season abroad, he transferred to a club in Azerbaijan. However, there are few participating teams in the Azerbaijan League, and the league has started in mid-December for the past two seasons, so it seems that they are currently preparing for the CEV Challenge Cup. Although they are an Azerbaijani team, they have the most Canadian players (6 out of 17 are Canadian). If they win, there is a possibility that they will play against Monza with Ai Takahashi and Bucharest with Ryu Yamamoto. By the way, they are my junior high school juniors (lol).
About the CEV-sponsored competition
In Europe, apart from the domestic leagues of each country, there is a European-wide tournament in which the top teams from each country's league that are members of the Confederation of European Volleyball (CEV) participate. There are three tournaments in order of class, and clubs with Japanese players are scheduled to participate in each one.
CEV Champions League
Berlin(Satoshi Tsukijo)
CEV Cup
Milan(Yuki Ishikawa),Duren(Shohei Nose),Kladno(Takahiko Imamura)
CEV Challenge Cup
Monza(Ai Takahashi),Bucharest(Ryu Yamamoto),Shusha(Keisuke Matsuo)
How to watch each league
Italian League
Official page:https://www.legavolley.it/
Distribution site
VolleyballTV (all games, paid): https://www.volleyballworld.tv/home
Rai Sport (select matches only, free, requires VPN): https://www.raiplay.it/dirette/raisport
Polish League
Official page:https://www.plusliga.pl/
Distribution site
Polsat Box Go (all games, paid, requires VPN): https://polsatboxgo.pl/start
German League
Official page:https://www.volleyball-bundesliga.de/...
Distribution site
Twitch (all matches, free):https://m.twitch.tv/
French League
Official page:https://www.lnv.fr/lam/statistiques
Distribution site
LNVTV (all games, pay-per-view):https://www.lnvtv.com/
Romanian League
Official page:https://frv-web.dataproject.com/CompetitionHome.aspx?ID=36
Distribution site
On the official website (all matches, free):https://frv-web.dataproject.com/MainStreaming.aspx
Czech League
Official page:https://www.cvf.cz/extraliga-muzi/
Distribution site
VOLEJ.TV (all matches, free): https://volej.tv/
CEV-sponsored competitions
Official page:https://www.cev.eu/club/
Distribution site
EuroVolley TV (select matches, paid): https://www.eurovolley.tv/en-int/page/home-cev
Youtube (plus some matches, free):https://www.youtube.com/@EuropeanVolleyball
We recommend checking "FLASHSCORE" to check the match schedules and results of each league!
This is the site I use too. It's very convenient.
FLASHSCORE:https://www.flashscore.com/volleyball/
There is also an app version!
The recommended VPN software is "Nord VPN"!!
This is the VPN (Virtual Private Network) software that I use myself.
We are currently running a sale offering 64% off + 3 month extension!!
Nord VPN:https://t.co/RHnQqrTdJI
English 
Japanese