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The Yomiuri Shimbun The Suntory Sunbirds’ Ran Takahashi throws signed balls to the crowd after the match.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
10:25 JST, February 22, 2025
OSAKA — The popularity of volleyball is soaring in Osaka Prefecture once again. Excitement is especially high for men’s volleyball teams such as the Suntory Sunbirds Osaka and the Osaka Bluteon. Ran Takahashi and Yuji Nishida are the star players for the respective teams. The teams are so popular that tickets for their home games sell out within about an hour.
In early January, a Sunbirds game in Osaka City drew 7,163 spectators, setting a club record. Female fans capturing the action with their telephoto lenses resembled idol fans.
“Seeing a spike in person is just so cool!” said a university student from Tokushima City who traveled by overnight bus to see the game.
Osaka Prefecture has a rich volleyball history, as key players on the 1964 national women’s team, which won gold at the Tokyo Olympics that year, were from the area. The team was then nicknamed the “Oriental Witches.”
Municipalities and companies are also taking a keen interest in the sport as it gains more fans. Osaka Prefecture’s city of Hirakata, which is home to the Osaka Bluteon, has incorporated volleyball into its furusato nozei hometown tax donation system. With a donation of ¥30,000, fans can have the unique experience of receiving a spike from an Osaka Bluteon player, as well as getting a pair of tickets to see a game. The program’s popularity was evident, as the annual 20-person quota was met within 40 seconds.
Nankai Electric Railway Co. is also showing its support for Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers, based in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, by running a train decorated with images of the players on the outside. The promotional train will run until the end of May.
Japanese players are also becoming more popular overseas, particularly on social media.
“We plan to focus on inbound tourism, especially targeting Southeast Asia,” said an Osaka Bluteon representative on the vision for the club’s future.
