The Japanese men's national volleyball team enters the 2026 season under serious pressure, after local media reported a new scandal involving one of the national team members.
According to information in the Japanese sports media, a player from the extended squad of "Ryujin Nippon" has already been removed from the team due to a suspected drug-related case. As of now, the Japan Volleyball Association (JVA) has not published official details on the matter.
Polish journalist Jakub Balcerzak announced on social media that national team member Shunichiro Sato was arrested on suspicion of drug possession. According to the published information, the 26-year-old middle blocker was immediately removed from coach Laurent Tillie's squad.

The topic comes at an extremely delicate moment for Japanese volleyball, after just a year ago the national team went through another serious shake-up " the poor performance at the World Championship and a series of off-court scandals involving some of the team's stars.
After the era of Philippe Blain, Japan built a reputation as one of the most professionally organized and disciplined national teams in the world, but over the past two seasons, the image of "Ryujin Nippon" has begun to suffer serious blows.
Japanese media and fans are already raising questions about control within the national program and the federation's management, especially given the growing public pressure surrounding the team.

For now:

• no official name of the player has been announced;

• no police report has been published;

• it has not been clarified whether it concerns use, possession, or an investigation.

The Japan Volleyball Association is expected to issue an official statement in the coming days before the start of preparations for the Volleyball Nations League 2026.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov