Ice hockey in Japan

Ice hockey in Japan
Country	Japan
Governing body	Japan Ice Hockey Federation
National team	Men's national team; Women's national team
Clubs	Asia League Ice Hockey

Ice hockey is a minor sport that is gaining popularity in Japan.^[1][2][3] Baseball and football have been the dominant Japanese sports for decades, but ice hockey in Japan started in the 1920s.^[4] The Japan Ice Hockey League (JIHL) was the national league in the country from 1966-2004, when it folded in favor of the multi-national Asia League. Since 1933, a cup competition, the All Japan Ice hockey Championship has been held. A women’s counterpart has been held since 1982. Japan has men’s, women’s and junior national teams. The Japan women's national team qualified for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

References

1. "'Samurai' Boost Japanese Hockey". Wsj.com. 1998-02-11. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
2. "CWHL's Japanese skaters driven by passion for Olympic hockey podium". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
3. Bob Birge (2013-03-25). "Former Oiler Terai adjusting to hockey and life in Japan". The Hour. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
4. "Former NHLers find hockey adventure in Japan". NHL.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
5. "Women's ice hockey team "Smile Japan" chase Olympic dream - Olympic News". Olympic.org. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
6. Samer Kalaf (2013-12-18). "Japan's Women's Hockey Team Is The Lovable Underdog Of The Olympics". Deadspin.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
7. Meadows, Mark (2009-04-01). "Ice hockey-Japan's 'Bunnies' boiled by economic crisis". Blogs.reuters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
8. Watanabe, Tadashi. "Women's ice hockey team banking on Sochi". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
9. "Japan's ice hockey women chase Olympic dream". Al Jazeera English. 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2016-10-18.