Japan

Japan is a country in East Asia with a population of about 127,000,000. Its capital and largest city is Tokyo.

Organisation
Ice hockey in Japan is not promotion and relegation-based. The top level is the professonal Asia League, born in 2003 out of the remaining four teams of the now defunct Japan Ice Hockey League who decided to take an international turn by allowing in Anyang Halla Winia from the defunct Korean Ice Hockey League. Below the Asia League lie two leagues, the J-Ice North League and the J-Ice West League. The two of them are amateur leagues, respectively for the best non-professional teams from Hokkaido and the western part of the country (the island of Kyushu and the western part of the main island, Honshu).

Below the J-Ice leagues, the various regional ice hockey federations take care to organize various competitions for their members. These usually include University and High School leagues and championships, as well as senior, elders and women's hockey championships. Those clubs involved in these activities can still participate in various national tournaments: the All-Japan Championship, the Japan Intercollegiate Games and the All-Japan Women's Championship, for instance.

University Level
Chubu University Ice Hockey League

Hokkadio University Ice Hockey League

Kansai University Ice Hockey League

Kanto University Ice Hockey League

History of hockey in Japan
Ice hockey was brought to Japan by the English at the beginning of the 20th century. Soon hockey became popular, particularly in the northern regions of Japan. The Japan Ice Hockey Federation was founded in 1929, and it joined the International Ice Hockey Federation a year later.

The same year, in 1930, Japan took part in the World Championships as the first Asian country, losing to England 0-3.

Japan also participated in the 1936 Olympics finishing with an 0-2 record. The 1936 Olympics marked the first use of a mask by a goaltender at the Olympic Games and possibly the first use in international hockey when Teiji Honma used a baseball catchers style mask to protect his glasses.

International
Ice hockey was brought to Japan during the early 1990s. Soon hockey became popular, particularly in the northern regions of Japan. The Japan Ice Hockey Federation was founded in 1929, and it joined the International Ice Hockey Federation a year later.

Japan has competed in Olympics eight times. At World Championships, Japan played in the lower divisions until 1998 as it was promoted to Pool A as the best Far East team in the 1997 World Championships.

The Japanese U20, U18, Womens, and Womens U18 teams have also participated in world championships.

Some great Japanese players, past and present

 * Yutaka Fukufuji
 * Takahito Suzuki

Main Cities

 * Tomakomai
 * Kushiro
 * Sapporo
 * Hachinohe
 * Nikko
 * Tokyo
 * Kanagawa
 * Nagano
 * Nagoya
 * Osaka
 * Kyoto

National Teams

 * Japan men's national ice hockey team
 * Japan men's national junior ice hockey team
 * Japan men's national U-18 ice hockey team
 * Japan women's national ice hockey team
 * Japan women's national U-18 ice hockey team