In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Japan and other ICC members since 1 January 2019 have the full T20I status.[4]
Cricket was introduced to Japan in the 1860s, by the British, but did not become organised until the 1980s, when the Japan Cricket Association was formed.[5] They became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1989,[6] and the national team first played in the 1996 ACC Trophy, losing all their games including a 380 run defeat by Fiji.[7] They continued without success in the 1998 tournament[8] and the 2000 tournament.[9]
After the 2000 ACC Trophy, they left the Asian Cricket Council and became part of the ICC's East Asia/Pacific region. They played in the East Asia Eights tournament in Australia in February 2002, finishing as runners-up to an Australian indigenous team.[10]Indonesia and South Korea were the other teams in the tournament.[11] In 2004, they hosted the East Asia Pacific Cricket Challenge tournament as part of qualification for the 2007 World Cup, finishing third after beating Indonesia in a play-off.[12]
In June 2005, Japan were promoted to associate membership of the ICC[13] and that year they played in the 2005 ICC EAP Cricket Cup in Vanuatu, winning the tournament after beating the Cook Islands in the final.[14] The following year they played in the 2006 ICC EAP Cricket Trophy in Brisbane finishing last in the three team tournament that also involved Fiji and the Cook Islands.[15]
On March 22, 2016, it was announced that Sano, Tochigi, would be home to the Sano International Cricket Ground, which will become Japan's first dedicated purpose-built cricketing venue which no longer had to compete with other sports for usage.[19]
On October 9, 2022, Japan played their first ever T20 international match against Indonesia.[20] In January 2023 it was announced that Japan and Indonesia would be included in Asian Cricket Council (ACC) pathway events, while remaining in the ICC East Asia-Pacific development region.[21] Japan was formally readmitted to ACC membership in January 2024, with Indonesia also joining as a member.[22]
Japan will be participating at 2022 Asian Games cricket tournament. They were placed in a group along with Cambodia and Hong Kong. This will be the Japan national cricket team's first appearance at the Asian Games.