Japan's Basketball Drive Facing Headwinds

Japan have ambitious plans to become basketball powerhouses, but a row involving star player Rui Hachimura and disagreements over the domestic league's direction mean success is anything but a slam dunk.

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FUNABASHI -

Once minnows on the world stage, Japan qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics and took eventual silver medallists France to overtime in the group phase, helped by a handful of players from the National Basketball Association (NBA), including Los Angeles Lakers forward Hachimura.

At home, the domestic B.League is enjoying record attendances and revenue, with new arenas being built and ambitions to become the second-best league in the world behind the NBA.

Chairman Shinji Shimada said the B.League's "mix of sport and live entertainment" offers Japanese fans something different.

"Lots of people watch a B.League game for the first time and say it's more interesting than football or baseball, and they want to come back," he told AFP in the B.League's plush office in central Tokyo.

Shimada said the B.League is already catching up on a business scale with leagues in Europe and China, and is taking steps to close the gap on the court too.