Tokyo, May 9, 2006 : The FIVB World Championships are still over five months away, but media interest in host country Japan is already at a high level.
When the Japan Volleyball Association held a news conference for the women's national team in Tokyo on Monday, more than 100 media turned up, including three leading TV stations, among them World Championships host broadcaster TBS.
Head coach Shoichi Yanagimoto spoke of his hopes and aims for the year, and each member of the 18-strong training squad gave a comment to the media before dispersing for a series of one-on-one interviews.
The session lasted one hour, after which the players moved to the gymnasium inside the high-tech Japan Institute of Sports Sciences to begin a six-day training camp.
Although Japan finished fifth in both the World Grand Prix Final Round and the World Grand Champions Cup last season, and ended the year ranked seventh in the world, Yanagimoto did not regard it as a big success.
"I would say the team was just marking time last year," he said.
"This year we have to build some momentum."
The absence for long spells, either due to injury or unavailability, of Athens Olympics trio Megumi Kurihara, Kana Oyama and Saori Kimura affected Japan's progress in 2005, but at least it gave the chance for some new players to catch the eye.
Now Yanagimoto will try to find the perfect combinations, while introducing even more fresh talent into his team.
"Last year we had many small players, and we proved that our defence and our speed was among the best in the world," he said.
"That provided us with a base to build on, and this year we are looking to add more height and power.
"The first priority is to work on our fundamental skills and precision; the second is combinations for the offence."
With dynamo Miyuki Takahashi back from her Italian experience with Vicenza, and with Kurihara, Oyama and Kimura all available for the start of the international season, Japan are hoping to take big strides this year.
The squad of 18 players for the first training camp included five newcomers in Midori Takahashi, Akiko Ino, Masayo Eguchi, Shuka Oyama and Yuki Ishikawa. The JVA will select 14 for the Montreux Volley Masters in Switzerland from June 6-11, and for the Courmayeur international the following week in Italy.
"It might be risky, but I will try to give the young players as much experience as possible. It's a good chance for them to play at a high level of international volleyball," said Yanagimoto.
