Tokyo, October 23, 2006: Over 100 members of Japan’s mass media attended a press conference for the women’s national team at the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences in Tokyo on Monday afternoon.
After an opening address from head coach Shoichi Yanagimoto, the 13 players present from Japan’s 17-strong squad each gave a comment on the forthcoming FIVB World Championships.
Event MC Motoko Obayashi then opened the session to questions from the media, and, following a team photo session, the players were free to conduct individual interviews with newspaper reporters and TV stations.
One of the most popular media targets was Japan’s China-born wing spiker Shuka Oyama, who is expected to lead the attack in the absence of injured duo Kana Oyama and Megumi Kurihara.
Kurihara missed the entire World Grand Prix season due to a foot injury, while Kana Oyama is unlikely to recover from a shoulder injury in time for the World Championships, which begin October 31.
Head coach Yanagimoto is confident 26-year-old Shuka Oyama can fill the gap.
“Her level is going up all the time,” he said of Shuka, who started playing volleyball in Japan at 18 years old after excelling in the high jump in her native China.
“She played well in the Grand Prix final round in Italy, and is continuing to improve.”
Yanagimoto said his team was at 80 per cent of capacity, but could make up the remaining 20 per cent with their strong mentality, heart and physical fitness.
Their initial target is to win all five first-round matches at Yoyogi National Stadium First Gymnasium and carry this momentum into the second round in Nagoya, from where a place in the semi-finals would be a realistic target.
“We must take it game by game and aim to improve our performance with each game,” said Yanagimoto.
“To reach the semi-finals I think we can afford to lose only one match. There are going to be some difficult games, so we must take our level up as the competition goes on. The players will be in the best condition, so I think we can do this.”
Japan will open their campaign against Chinese Taipei on October 31, and play Costa Rica the following day. November 2 is a rest day, before Japan complete their Pool A fixtures against Kenya, Korea and Poland on three successive sell-out nights at the 12,000-capacity Yoyogi Gym.
The Japan Volleyball Association data base shows that Japan’s win-loss record is 15-0 against Chinese Taipei since 1993, 4-0 against Kenya, 15-27 against Korea (but with only one defeat in the last 12 meetings, at the Athens Olympics), and 14-7 against Poland, including two 3-0 sweeps this year.
There are no records for Costa Rica, who are ranked a lowly 33rd by the FIVB.
After one hour of interviews, the players then conducted a two-hour training session in front of the media, guaranteeing wide exposure on TV and in the newspapers.
