In August, Japan will make its seventh appearance at the 2025 World Lacrosse Men’s U20 Championship on Jeju Island, South Korea. The team tied its highest-ever finish in 2022, placing fifth, and has never finished lower than seventh in the tournament’s history.
A player to watch for Japan is midfielder Kai Hayami.
Hayami is coming off his first-year season at Roanoke College, appearing in 13 games for the Maroons. In 2025, he recorded three points with two goals and one assist. He added 12 ground balls and caused three turnovers. Roanoke finished the season ranked No. 25 in the USILA Division III poll and reached the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) semifinals.
Before Roanoke, Hayami played at Northville High School in Michigan, where he was a two-time second-team All-State midfielder and a two-time first-team All-Region selection. As a senior, he totaled 35 goals, 33 assists and 48 ground balls.
Japan will compete in Pool B alongside Hong Kong, China and the Netherlands. The team opens play against the Netherlands at 7 p.m. Korean Standard Time on August 15 to close out opening day.
Japan’s full roster can be found below.
| Kotaro Kawanaka | 3 | Goalie |
| Ryo Minegishi | 5 | Defense |
| Reishi Morisako | 6 | Defense |
| Taiga Sugimoto | 7 | Attack |
| Hirotaka Hattori | 8 | Attack |
| Seita Shiratsuka | 9 | Midfield |
| Kai Hayami | 11 | Midfield |
| Kazuto Funabashi | 13 | Defense |
| Oikawa Taisei | 15 | Defense |
| Kanta Koike | 18 | Attack |
| Zumi Kondo | 19 | Defense |
| Yuta Usui | 20 | Midfield |
| Keitaro Kishi | 21 | Midfield |
| Taisuke Ushiyama | 24 | Defense |
| Yuto Nakamura | 26 | Midfield |
| Haruto Takai | 30 | Goalie |
| Jinichiro Sato | 31 | Attack |
| Kyle Hata | 34 | Midfield |
| Takayuki Yamakawa | 46 | Defense |
| Rentaro Okuyama | 57 | Midfield |
| Jun Naito | 77 | Midfield |
| Kazuki Shimada | 88 | Defense |
