Yuki Ishikawa and Ran Takahashi’s Rising Popularity Highlight Financial Issues for Japan Volleyball Association
Although they didn’t win a medal at the Paris Olympics, the popularity of the Japanese men’s volleyball team was outstanding during the tournament. Tickets for the men’s volleyball preliminary rounds were sold out before the opening. Despite the Olympics being held overseas, the venue was buzzing with cheers for Japan during the Japanese men’s matches. At the Nations League (June 2023, France round), they defeated the strong Brazilian team for the first time in 30 years, raising expectations for a gold medal.
Currently ranked 6th in the world, Yuki Ishikawa (28), who has been a key player in the top European Italian league for 10 years, and Ran Takahashi (22), who has surpassed 2.7 million followers on Instagram, are at the center of the rising popularity. In May, Takahashi announced a surprise joining of the Suntory Sunbirds Osaka, who will participate in the SV League starting in October. At the press conference, the team’s General Manager Keisuke Kurihara did not disclose the exact salary for Takahashi but proudly stated, “He can buy a car and a house. It might be difficult in Tokyo, but maybe two houses. The offer is not inferior to other sports.” Despite this, the Japanese volleyball world is troubled by a certain problem. An evening newspaper reporter reveals this issue.
“That is the lack of funds at the Japan Volleyball Association (JVA). The representative players were in business class when going to the Paris Olympics, but it seems they returned in economy class. Also, the players had to stay in the difficult conditions of the athletes’ village throughout.”
Shunichi Kawai (61), who was appointed JVA president in 2022 and is now in his second term, initiated reforms to enhance the brand value of Japanese national players. These included upgrading flight seats from economy to business class for European and South American tours. However, in April this year, Kawai made comments regarding the JVA’s financial situation. According to the evening newspaper reporter:
“President Kawai said, ‘Frankly speaking, we are in the red. I didn’t expect it to cost this much.’ Looking at JVA’s financial report for the fiscal year 2023, the operating revenue is about 3.5 billion yen, while operating expenses exceed it by about 300 million yen. Currently, the JVA receives approximately 1.146 billion yen in sponsorship support from 27 companies and aims to increase this to at least 32 companies and 1.5 billion yen over the next four years leading up to the Los Angeles Olympics. It seems they hoped that winning a medal at the Paris Olympics would make this dream a reality.”
During the Paris Olympics, the president himself actively appeared on TV as part of a sales activity, but the pre-tournament plans ended up as mere dreams because neither the men’s nor women’s teams won medals.
Even without benefiting from the Olympic boom, is there no way to generate revenue domestically? There is a unique issue within the volleyball world.
“Every year, the domestic top league, which starts in the fall (renamed the SV League from October), schedules its activities until May of the following year. Even if they want to schedule a Japanese national team match during the league, the rule prohibits calling up players from the league during its season. Unlike football, it is extremely difficult to host national volleyball matches domestically” (volleyball reporter).
