# Japan women's national ice hockey team

The Japanese women's national ice hockey team (Japanese: アイスホッケー女子日本代表, Hepburn: Aisuhokkē Joshi Nippon Daihyō) represents Japan at the International Ice Hockey Federation's Women's World Championships, the Winter Olympics, and at other international ice hockey tournaments. The women's national team is governed by the Japan Ice Hockey Federation. Japan had 2,587 registered female players in 2017 and 1,439 as of 2020.
The nickname of Japan women's team is "Smile Japan" (Japanese: スマイルジャパン, Hepburn: Sumairu Japan).

## Tournament record
### Olympic Games

* 1998 – Finished in 6th place
* 2014 – Finished in 7th place
* 2018 – Finished in 6th place
* 2022 – Finished in 6th place
* 2026 – Qualified

### World Championship

* 1990 – Finished in 8th place
* 1999 – Finished in 9th place (1st in Group B, Promoted to Top Division)
* 2000 – Finished in 8th place (Relegated to Division I).
* 2001 – Finished in 10th place (2nd in Division I).
* 2003 – Finished in 9th place (1st in Group B, Promoted to Top Division)
* 2004 – Finished in 9th place (Relegated to Division I)
* 2005 – Finished in 10th place (2nd in Division I)
* 2007 – Finished in 10th place (1st in Group B, Promoted to Top Division)
* 2008 – Finished in 7th place
* 2009 – Finished in 8th place (Relegated to Division I)
* 2011 – Withdrew from the tournament due to an earthquake
* 2012 – Finished in 11th place (3rd in Division IA)
* 2013 – Finished in 9th place (1st in Division IA, Promoted to Top Division)
* 2015 – Finished in 7th place
* 2016 – Finished in 8th place (Relegated to Division I)
* 2017 – Finished in 9th place (1st in Division IA, Promoted to Top Division)
* 2019 – Finished in 8th place
* 2020 – Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
* 2021 – Finished in 6th place
* 2022 – Finished in 5th place
* 2023 – Finished in 7th place
* 2024 – Finished in 8th place
* 2025 –

### Asian Games

* 1996 – Finished in 2nd place
* 1999 – Finished in 2nd place
* 2003 – Finished in 2nd place
* 2007 – Finished in 2nd place
* 2011 – Finished in 2nd place
* 2017 – Finished in 1st place
* 2025 –

### IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia

* 2010 – Finished in 2nd place
* 2011 – Finished in 1st place
* 2012 – Finished in 1st place
* 2025 – Finished in 1st place

### Pacific Rim Championship

* 1995 – Finished in 4th place
* 1996 – Finished in 4th place

## Team
### Current roster

Roster for the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship.
Head coach: Yuji Iizuka
| No. | Pos. | Name | Height | Weight | Birthdate | Team |
| 2 | D | Shiori Koike – C | 1.59 m (5 ft 3 in) | 53 kg (117 lb) | (1993-03-21) 21 March 1993 (age 31) | DK Peregrine |
| 3 | D | Aoi Shiga | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | 63 kg (139 lb) | (1999-07-04) 4 July 1999 (age 25) | Toyota Cygnus |
| 4 | D | Ayaka Hitosato – A | 1.61 m (5 ft 3 in) | 58 kg (128 lb) | (1994-08-22) 22 August 1994 (age 30) | Linköping HC |
| 5 | D | Shiori Yamashita | 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) | 53 kg (117 lb) | (2002-04-28) 28 April 2002 (age 22) | Seibu Princess Rabbits |
| 6 | D | Kohane Sato | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) | 61 kg (134 lb) | (2006-03-16) 16 March 2006 (age 18) | Daishin |
| 7 | D | Kanami Seki | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | 62 kg (137 lb) | (2000-06-23) 23 June 2000 (age 24) | HV71 |
| 8 | D | Akane Hosoyamada – A | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) | 60 kg (130 lb) | (1992-03-09) 9 March 1992 (age 32) | DK Peregrine |
| 9 | D | An Shinoda | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) | 56 kg (123 lb) | (2004-07-03) 3 July 2004 (age 20) | Takasu Clinic Mikage Gretz |
| 10 | F | Hikaru Yamashita | 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in) | 55 kg (121 lb) | (2000-09-23) 23 September 2000 (age 24) | AIK |
| 11 | F | Akane Shiga | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | 61 kg (134 lb) | (2001-03-03) 3 March 2001 (age 23) | PWHL Ottawa |
| 14 | F | Haruka Toko | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | 65 kg (143 lb) | (1997-03-16) 16 March 1997 (age 27) | Linköping HC |
| 15 | F | Rui Ukita | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | 70 kg (150 lb) | (1996-06-06) 6 June 1996 (age 28) | Daishin |
| 16 | F | Yoshino Enomoto | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) | 57 kg (126 lb) | (1998-09-22) 22 September 1998 (age 26) | Ladies Team Lugano |
| 18 | F | Suzuka Taka | 1.61 m (5 ft 3 in) | 53 kg (117 lb) | (1996-10-16) 16 October 1996 (age 28) | DK Peregrine |
| 19 | F | Makoto Ito | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | 65 kg (143 lb) | (2004-05-02) 2 May 2004 (age 20) | Toyota Cygnus |
| 20 | G | Miyuu Masuhara | 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in) | 51 kg (112 lb) | (2001-10-04) 4 October 2001 (age 23) | DK Peregrine |
| 21 | F | Marin Nagaoka | 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) | 61 kg (134 lb) | (2002-07-27) 27 July 2002 (age 22) | Seibu Princess Rabbits |
| 24 | F | Mei Miura | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) | 68 kg (150 lb) | (1998-11-16) 16 November 1998 (age 26) | AIK |
| 27 | F | Remi Koyama | 1.47 m (4 ft 10 in) | 52 kg (115 lb) | (2000-07-17) 17 July 2000 (age 24) | Seibu Princess Rabbits |
| 30 | G | Haruka Kuromaru | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | 52 kg (115 lb) | (2007-03-29) 29 March 2007 (age 17) | CrystalBlades |
| 31 | G | Riko Kawaguchi | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | 70 kg (150 lb) | (2004-09-19) 19 September 2004 (age 20) | Daishin |
| 40 | F | Rio Noro | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) | 62 kg (137 lb) | (2004-05-15) 15 May 2004 (age 20) | Daishin |
| 61 | F | Yumeka Wajima | 1.56 m (5 ft 1 in) | 50 kg (110 lb) | (2002-10-19) 19 October 2002 (age 22) | DK Peregrine |

### Notable former players

* Nonaka Emi
* Masako Sato
* Rie Sato
* Adachi Yurie

### Coaches

* 1990 World Championship – Noriko Fukuda
* 1995 to 1998 – Wally Kozak (coach-mentor)
* 1998 Winter Olympics – Toru Itabashi (head coach), Tsutomu Kawabuchi
* 1999 World Championship B – Takayuki Hatanda
* 2000 World Championship – Takayuki Hatanda
* 2001 World Championship D1 – Takayuki Hatanda
* 2003 World Championship D1 – Masayuki Takahashi
* 2004 World Championship – Kenji Nobuta (head coach), Tsutomu Kawabuchi (assistant coach, team manager)
* 2005 World Championship D1 – Kenji Nobuta
* 2007 World Championship D1 – Kohichi Satoh
* 2008 World Championship – Yuji Iizuka
* 2009 World Championship – Yuji Iizuka
* 2012 World Championship D1A – Yuji Iizuka
* 2013 World Championship D1A – Yuji Iizuka
* 2014 Winter Olympics – Yuji Iizuka
* 2015 World Championship – Yoshifumi Fujisawa
* 2016 World Championship – Yoshifumi Fujisawa
* 2017 World Championship D1A – Takeshi Yamanaka
* 2018 Winter Olympics – Takeshi Yamanaka
* 2019 World Championship – Yuji Iizuka
* 2021 World Championship – Yuji Iizuka
* 2022 Winter Olympics – Yuji Iizuka
* 2022 World Championship – Yuji Iizuka
* 2023 World Championship – Yuji Iizuka
Source: IIHF Guide & Record Book 2020

## All-time record against other nations

Last match update: 10 March 2022
Key :
* Positive balance (more Wins)
* Neutral balance (Wins = Losses)
* Negative balance (more Losses)
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA |
| Czech Republic | 27 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 79 | 46 |
| France | 19 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 72 | 20 |
| South Korea | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 139 | 2 |
| Denmark | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 48 | 13 |
| Austria | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 9 |
| Norway | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 17 |
| North Korea | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 12 |
| Latvia | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 7 |
| Hungary | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 8 |
| Slovakia | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 11 |
| Kazakhstan | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 31 | 20 |
| Hong Kong | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 |
| Thailand | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| Germany | 33 | 15 | 2 | 16 | 68 | 68 |
| China | 38 | 18 | 0 | 20 | 96 | 122 |
| Canada | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 82 |
| United States | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 110 |
| Sweden | 18 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 24 | 82 |
| Switzerland | 28 | 6 | 3 | 19 | 47 | 70 |
| Finland | 16 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 13 | 67 |
| Russia | 21 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 31 | 71 |
| Total | 295 | 151 | 6 | 138 | 906 | 837 |