When it comes to sport, rugby is undoubtedly much loved by both Wales and Japan. In fact, it was while watching the ‘beautiful’ Welsh team play against Japan in 1975 that Koji Tokumasu, the President of Asia Rugby and driving force behind Japan hosting the 2019 World Cup, fell in love with the game, sparking a shared passion between the two nations.
Since then, a number of successors of that 70s Welsh team have made their home in Japan, none more celebrated than Wales’ record try scorer Shane Williams. So what made the Welsh rugby legend fall in love with the Land of the Rising Sun and what’s next for Wales and Japan’s rugby relationship?
Arguably one of Wales’ greatest ever players, Shane Williams boasted an unparalleled career, winning multiple Six Nations Grand Slams and having the enviable claim to fame of being the only Welshman to have been crowned rugby’s World Player of the Year.
In June 2012, just months after leaving the international stage, Glanamman born Shane Williams had hung up his playing boots for the Ospreys. He had planned to retire - family time and enjoying life on Gower’s beaches, alongside some part-time coaching at his beloved Ospreys - all appeared to be on the horizon.
But horizons change. An offer from the Kanagawa prefecture to play for the Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars, near Tokyo, meant that Shane and his family would be moving 6,001 miles.
”I’m from a spot in Wales with just a few thousand people. Suddenly I was in Tokyo with 37 million around me,” Shane said about the shock of moving countries and embracing a different culture. “I didn’t understand anyone and the environment was alien, but the people are so friendly, the friendliest I’ve ever met, and so helpful. It didn’t take me long to feel comfortable. After that I loved every second and the cultural differences, I found inspiring.”
Away from the gaze of the world’s rugby media and millions of fans, some wondered if Shane’s move would be a silent swansong but that was not the case. After enjoying his season so much he renewed with the Dynaboars and became a player-coach. Next came a decision that ruffled feathers across the rugby world.
Expected to be a part of the welcome party as Wales toured Japan in the summer of 2013, in the end Shane was unable to attend. Out of the blue he’d been called up to join the British & Irish Lions tour in Australia. A huge show in confidence not only in Shane’s ability as a player supposedly easing himself into a final retirement, but also in the level and intensity of Japanese rugby - a domestic game that was now welcoming the likes of New Zealander Sonny Bill Williams and South African Jacque Fourie. Shane’s venture in Japan had turned into his rugby encore, not his farewell.
Shane would extend his stay in Japan several more times before bringing the final curtain down on his career in 2015. His work in Japan didn’t come down with it however. With the 2019 Rugby World Cup quickly coming over the hill, Shane was passionate for the world to know just how special a place Japan was, and what was in store for half a million rugby fans flying in from all over the world.
“They’re completely fanatical about the things they put on. They’re going to really embrace it, make sure that everyone enjoys it and wants to come back to Japan. Having experienced Japan for three years and seen the kind of festivals and events they do there, I just think it could be amazing and very different to any other World Cup we’ve ever seen,” he said to the world’s media as they listened ahead of the tournament.
But what did Shane think of Japan, the country? “I saw pretty much every bit of Japan, and every bit I found to be different. That’s the great thing about the country. It just blew me away.” Japan loved Shane too, with some fans going above and beyond to let him know.
Shane Williams and Japan, a love affair that continues to cherry blossom, as does the wider rugby relationship between Wales and Japan itself. In 2025, Wales will take on Japan as part of its 15-day summer rugby tour of the country, playing two test matches – fixtures that are undoubtedly set to draw in thousands of Welsh - and Japanese - fans to celebrate a bond that began back in the 1970s but shows no sign of slowing up.
