Tokyo Great Bears

Tokyo Great Bears
2023–24 V.League Division 1 Men's
Full nameTokyo Great Bears
東京グレートベアーズ
FoundedMay 2022 (2022-05)[1]
GroundKōtō, Tokyo, Japan
OwnerNature Lab Co., Ltd.
Great Bears Co., Ltd.
Head Coach Kasper Vuorinen
Captain Koichiro Koga[2]
LeagueV.League Division 1
WebsiteClub home page

Tokyo Great Bears (Japanese: 東京グレートベアーズ) is the Japanese male volleyball club in the SV.League, the highest-tier volleyball league in Japan. Established in May 2022 by Nature Lab Co., Ltd. and would start competing in 2022–23 season.[1]

Concept

The team name means the players and supporters that are connected, comparable to the seven stars of the Big Dipper, which is part of Ursa Major. The club intend to connect people, regions, and the world through volleyball. They will envision a future that will make the volleyball world more exciting and attractive.[3]

History

In 2021, it was announced that FC Tokyo volleyball team would suspend the operations after the 2021–22 V. League season.[4][5] But in May 2022, It was reported that the team was transferred to Nature Lab Co., Ltd. and established as the new team Tokyo Great Bears.[6][3]

In the same month, Great Bears Co., Ltd. was founded as the management company for the club under Nature Lab and some players from FC Tokyo was also transferred to the club.[3]

All players are offered professional contracts.[7]

Tokyo Great Bears broke the V.League Division 1 attendance record with 8,142 fans in attendance for the game against JTEKT Stings at Ariake Coliseum.[8]

Team

Current roster

Team roster – season 2025/2026
No. Player Name Date of birth Position
1 Bartosz Kurek (1988-08-29) August 29, 1988 Opposite hitter
3 Fukatsu Akihiro (1987-07-23) July 23, 1987 Setter
4 Jan Kozamernik (1995-12-24) December 24, 1995 Middle blocker
5 Wataru Taniguchi (1996-11-05) November 5, 1996 Libero
6 Alex Ferreira (1991-11-13) November 13, 1991 Outside hitter
8 Masahiro Yanagida (1992-07-06) July 6, 1992 Outside hitter
9 Takahiro Tozaki (1995-06-14) June 14, 1995 Outside hitter
10 Taichirō Koga (c) (1989-10-04) October 4, 1989 Libero
12 Go Murayama (1998-07-30) July 30, 1998 Middle blocker
13 Issei Otake (1995-12-03) December 3, 1995 Middle blocker
15 Yuki Imahashi (2000-12-25) December 25, 2000 Setter
17 Luciano Vicentin (2000-04-04) April 4, 2000 Outside hitter
25 Rikuto Goto (2001-05-13) May 13, 2001 Outside hitter
26 Riku Ito (2001-11-14) November 14, 2001 Middle blocker
29 Ryuki Ohmae (2002-11-21) November 21, 2002 Libero
31 Ryusei Kurokawa (2002-05-31) May 31, 2002 Setter
39 Yusaku Takashima (2004-01-31) January 31, 2004 Opposite hitter
Head coach: Kasper Vuorinen

Former roster

Team roster – season 2023/2024
No. Player Name Date of birth Position
1 Hidetomo Hoshino (1990-09-29) September 29, 1990 Outside hitter
2 Kentaro Tamaya (1992-01-30) January 30, 1992 Setter
3 Fukatsu Akihiro (1987-07-23) July 23, 1987 Setter
6 Hideyuki Kuriyama (1993-07-15) July 15, 1993 Middle Blocker
7 Kouhei Yanagisawa (1993-05-24) May 24, 1993 Outside hitter
8 Masahiro Yanagida (1992-07-06) July 6, 1992 Outside hitter
9 Takahiro Tozaki (1995-06-14) June 14, 1995 Outside hitter
10 Taichirō Koga (c) (1989-10-04) October 4, 1989 Libero
11 Daigo Yamada (1998-04-11) April 11, 1998 Middle blocker
12 Hirotaka Odashima (1991-07-22) July 22, 1991 Middle Blocker
13 Hayata Yanagimachi (1996-06-17) June 17, 1996 Opposite Spiker
14 Shin Tehara (1993-04-14) April 14, 1993 Setter
15 Yuki Imahashi (2000-12-25) December 25, 2000 Setter
16 Takumi Kameyama (2001-02-27) February 27, 2001 Outside Hitter
17 Shingo Kasari (1997-01-29) January 29, 1997 Outside hitter
18 Tetsuya Muto (1997-11-05) November 5, 1997 Middle Blocker
20 Rafael Araújo (1991-06-13) June 13, 1991 Opposite hitter
28 Kandai Goto (2003-01-25) January 25, 2003 Libero
Head coach: Kasper Vuorinen

Head coach history

Name Years
Koichiro Shimbo 2022-2023[9]
Kasper Vuorinen 2023-Present[10]

Notable players

Rafael Araújo (2022)

Bartosz Kurek (2025)

Results

League result

  Champion   Runner-up

League Position Teams Matches Win Lose
V.League Division 1 2022–23 season 8th 10 36 10 26

References

  1. ^ a b "tokyo-greatbears information". tokyo-greatbears.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  2. ^ "022-23シーズン 選手契約（12選手）及びキャプテン決定のお知らせ" (in Japanese). tokyo-greatbears.com. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "バレーV１新チーム『東京グレートベアーズ』小池百合子東京都知事を表敬訪問" (in Japanese). prtimes.jp. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  4. ^ Li, Matthew (8 December 2021). "Espejo's team FC Tokyo to suspend V.League ops after season". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  5. ^ "FC東京バレーボールチーム活動休止のお知らせ ｜ニュース｜バレーボール｜FC東京オフィシャルホームページ". FC Tokyo (in Japanese). 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  6. ^ "応援ありがとうございました。" (in Japanese). fctokyo.co.jp. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  7. ^ "【東京GBインタビュー①】久保田代表取締役が感じたVリーグの可能性「我々も26年前にはなかった会社」 | 月バレ.com【月刊バレーボール】". 月バレ.com【月刊バレーボール】 | 月刊バレーボールが運営するバレー情報サイト (in Japanese). 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  8. ^ "東京グレートベアーズ 2023年3月5日(日)V.LEAGUE MEN 最多入場者数更新のお知らせ". プレスリリース・ニュースリリース配信シェアNo.1｜PR TIMES. 2023-03-05. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  9. ^ ネイチャーラボ. "真保綱一郎監督 退任のお知らせ - NEWS - ニュース｜東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト". 東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  10. ^ ネイチャーラボ. "カスパー・ヴオリネン新監督就任のお知らせ - NEWS - ニュース｜東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト". 東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-06-15.
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