Japan

Japan are an Associate Member of the ICC, promoted to associate membership in June 2005 after first joining as an affiliate in 1989. The side is governed by the Japan Cricket Association, originally formed in 1984 and registered as a non-profit organisation in 2001. Japan played their first Twenty20 International on 9 October 2022 against Indonesia at the Sano International Cricket Ground.

Japan's senior men's team has not qualified for a full ICC World Cup, which is honest to state for an emerging Associate nation. At regional level Japan won the ICC EAP Cricket Cup in 2005 and 2007. Their landmark achievement came at age-group level, where the Japan Under-19 team qualified for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, the country's first appearance at a global ICC tournament. The senior side continues to compete in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier pathway.

Japan's home international cricket is centred on the Sano International Cricket Ground in Sano, in Tochigi Prefecture, which is also the headquarters of the Japan Cricket Association. The ground sits within reach of Tokyo, the country's principal city and arrival point for visiting teams.

Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming captains the Japan men's T20I side, a role he has held since his international and captaincy debut in October 2022. He led the team through the 2024 Twenty20 East Asia Cup, where he shared a record unbeaten opening stand of 258 with Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake.

For international fans, a standard 10:00 JST start at Sano converts to 02:00 BST in London, 21:00 EDT (previous day) in New York, and 11:00 AEST in Sydney. Japan Standard Time stays at UTC+9 all year with no daylight saving, so conversions shift only when other countries change clocks. Check Japan time for live conversions.