Japan arrives in Herning, Denmark, as the reigning Asian champion with a new head coach, a partly rebuilt roster, and a streak it wants to end.
Smile Japan has lost six consecutive Women’s World Championship quarterfinals. It opens Group B play against host Denmark on Saturday, Nov. 7. The International Ice Hockey Federation lists Japan eighth in the 2026 world ranking.
The storyline worth watching
Japan’s year has run in two directions. At the Olympics in February, Japan went 1-3 in Group B and finished ninth, its lowest placing in five Olympic appearances. The only win came 3-2 over France, and Italy beat Japan 3-2 to reach the quarterfinals for the first time. Months later, Japan won its third consecutive Asia Championship without allowing a goal, beating Kazakhstan 4-0, Korea 5-0, and China 6-0, the IIHF reported. The top five scorers in that tournament all played for Japan.
The bench changed in between. Tomohito Okubo, a former Tohoku Free Blades defender and coach, replaced Yuji Iizuka as head coach, with Jun Hanzawa and Hanae Kubo as assistants. The IIHF reported that several veterans retired or took post-Olympic breaks and that new players, including teenagers, were expected to make the roster. The Japan Ice Hockey Federation announced its 23-player roster on Oct. 21, and the team holds a pre-tournament camp in Germany and Denmark from Oct. 27 to Nov. 4.
The 2025 Worlds showed what Japan can do against a team at its own level. Rui Ukita scored in the second period to beat Germany 1-0 in group play, and goalie Miyuu Masuhara made 34 saves in the shutout, according to the IIHF.
The Group B schedule is harder. The IIHF balanced the groups by world ranking this year instead of placing the top five teams together, so every opponent except Denmark ranks ahead of Japan. Canada ranks second, Finland fifth, and Sweden sixth.
Player to watch: Akane Shiga
Forward Akane Shiga, 25, signed a two-year deal with PWHL Detroit on July 27 that runs through the 2027-28 season. She became the first Japanese player in Professional Women’s Hockey League history in 2024, when she played 24 games for Ottawa. She then spent two seasons with Luleå in the Swedish women’s hockey league.
At the Olympics, Shiga scored Japan’s second goal in the third period of the 3-2 loss to Italy, with Kohane Sato and Aoi Shiga assisting. At the latest Asia Championship she posted four points in three games, third in the tournament scoring race. Her recent experience in two professional leagues could matter for a roster that lost some veterans.
Other names to track include Masuhara in goal, forward Yumeka Wajima, 23, and defender Kohane Sato, 20. Wajima led the Asia Championship in scoring with three goals and four assists in three games and finished plus-7. Sato finished second with five points.
What success looks like for Japan
Reaching the quarterfinals won’t count as success for this team. Japan has done that six consecutive Worlds and lost each time, so the bar this year is a quarterfinal win. A top-four finish in Group B only earns Japan the chance, and the group results will show how realistic that chance is.
The Nov. 7 game against Denmark sets the floor. Denmark is the only Group B team ranked below Japan in 10th place. It is also a promoted team making its fifth top-division appearance. Japan beat Denmark 3-0 at the 2024 Worlds, and Japan outscored its Asia Championship opponents 15-0. For Japan, anything short of a win over Denmark is a bad start, because the Nov. 13 relegation playoff pits the two fifth-place teams against each other.
Sweden on Nov. 11 is the game that will matter most for Japan’s seeding. Sweden ranks sixth, two spots above Japan, and the game closes the preliminary round. A win would show the retooled roster can beat a team at roughly its own level. Finland, at fifth, is the harder test, but a loss there won’t move the needle much for Japan’s overall success.
Canada on Nov. 8 is the game to judge on how Japan plays, not just the result of the tournament. Japan scored once in the 9-1 quarterfinal loss in 2025, so success for Japan would be more than one goal against Canada and a closer final margin.
If Japan finishes fourth in the group, expect a quarterfinal against a top-ranked opponent, which makes a win there the hardest step in the tournament. It would also be the first Worlds quarterfinal win in the six-game streak. Matching fifth place from 2022, Japan’s best Worlds finish, is where the ceiling is for this team.
Group stage schedule
- Nov. 7 vs. Denmark, 7 PM local (1 PM EST)
- Nov. 8 vs. Canada, 7 PM local (1 PM EST)
- Nov. 10 vs. Finland, 3 PM local (9 AM EST)
- Nov. 11 vs. Sweden, 7 PM local (1 PM EST)
Full schedule available at IIHF.com.
