Yuki Kawamura Starts Again as Hachimura Rests, Leads Japan Early in Korea Friendly

On Sunday, August 16, 2026, Yuki Kawamura made his second consecutive start for Japan’s men’s national basketball team against South Korea at Ariake Arena in Tokyo — this time with Rui Hachimura sidelined for conditioning. The Los Angeles Clippers guard took over as the offensive focal point in the SoftBank CUP 2026 finale, pouring in a team-high 10 points with three assists and four rebounds in the first half as Akatsuki Japan built a 48-32 halftime lead.

Japan entered the night one win into a two-game friendly set after Saturday’s 88-68 victory, when Hachimura scored a game-high 22 points and Kawamura added 12 points and six assists in his first national-team appearance since the 2024 Paris Olympics. Coach Dai Oketani rotated his stars for the rematch, keeping Hachimura on the bench while Kawamura again ran the point in a reshaped starting five.

Editor’s note: This article draws on game coverage from Sponichi Annex, ABEMA TIMES, NTV News, the Japan Basketball Association Tokyo games site, and Korea JoongAng Daily, August 15–16, 2026.

Match at a glance

Detail	Information
Date	Sunday, August 16, 2026
Venue	Ariake Arena, Tokyo
Series	Two-game friendly set — Game 2 (SoftBank CUP 2026, Tokyo)
Tip-off	19:06 JST
Halftime score	Japan 48, South Korea 32
FIBA ranking	Japan 22nd; South Korea 57th

Japan’s Game 2 lineup: Kawamura in, Hachimura out

The Japan Basketball Association announced a 12-man active roster for the second friendly, leaving three players from Saturday’s 15-man list inactive.

Out of the lineup:

Player	Reason
Rui Hachimura (Clippers)	Conditioning / load management
Yudai Nishida (Seahorses Mikawa)	Poor physical condition
Keisei Tominaga (Levanga Hokkaido)	Poor physical condition

Yuta Watanabe (Chiba Jets) had already been unavailable for the series because of injury. Hachimura still took part in pre-game shooting and appeared as a broadcast guest during the match, telling Japanese media he hoped the team would “win again today.”

Starting five:

#	Player	Position	Club
5	Yuki Kawamura	PG	Los Angeles Clippers
18	Yuta Baba	SF	Nagasaki Velca
24	Josh Hawkinson	C/PF	Tokyo Sunrockers
33	Ryusei Sasaki	PG	San-en NeoPhoenix
91	Hirotaka Yoshii	SF	Ibaraki Robots

The bench opened with Takumi Saito, Yuki Togashiki, Aki Jacobs, Tomoki Kano, Yuto Kawashima, Koki Schafer-Av, and Shinji Takashima.

For Kawamura, the back-to-back starts capped a emotional return after roughly two years away from the national team. He signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Clippers this summer and reunited with Hachimura for Game 1, assisting on an early Hachimura three-pointer in a sequence that set the tone for Japan’s 20-point win.

First-half surge without Hachimura

Japan did not wait for its NBA forward to set the pace. Ryusei Sasaki opened the scoring with a three-pointer, and Japan ran off a 13-0 burst fueled by Hawkinson, Yoshii, and Baba before Korea answered.

Late in the first quarter, Kawamura hit back-to-back three-pointers, electrifying the Ariake crowd. In the second quarter he added a drive-and-finish, drew fouls for free throws, and set up Yuki Togashiki for another triple — pushing Japan’s cushion to 16 points at the break.

First-half leaders (Japan)	Stats
Yuki Kawamura	10 pts, 3 ast, 4 reb (12:08)
Ryusei Sasaki	9 pts

Kawamura’s half mirrored his Game 1 impact in a different role: without Hachimura drawing defensive attention, he controlled tempo from the top and punished Korea’s perimeter closeouts. Korean media had noted before tip-off that Japan’s lineup was significantly weakened without Hachimura, Nishida, and Tominaga — yet the hosts again controlled the opening 20 minutes.

South Korea, coached by Nikolaj Mazur, arrived short-handed for the Tokyo trip and had absorbed a record 20-point loss in the rivalry on Liberation Day, August 15. Saturday’s defeat was Korea’s largest-ever margin against Japan, surpassing a 17-point gap from the 1962 Asian Games.

Context from Game 1

Saturday’s opener under the Kaitori Daikichi Cup 2026 banner drew 13,613 fans to Ariake Arena. Japan jumped to an 11-0 lead and never trailed, stretching the margin to 32 points in the third quarter before easing starters late.

Game 1 top performers (Japan)	Line
Rui Hachimura	22 pts (23:40)
Josh Hawkinson	18 pts, 14 reb
Yuki Kawamura	12 pts, 6 ast
Keisei Tominaga	10 pts, 4 reb

Hachimura told reporters after Game 1 that playing before home fans again — his first domestic appearance in a Japan uniform since the Tokyo Olympics — felt “incredibly happy.” Kawamura echoed the sentiment, crediting loud crowd support while acknowledging late-game timing mistakes he wanted to clean up.

Japan and South Korea had split their 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifying meetings earlier in 2026: Japan won 78-72 in Okinawa on March 1, and Korea answered 81-79 in Goyang on July 6.

Road to Window 4

These Tokyo friendlies are Japan’s final full rehearsals before Window 4 of Asian qualifying for the 2027 FIBA World Cup — and, by extension, the path toward Los Angeles 2028 Olympic qualification.

Upcoming fixtures (Japan)	Date (Japan time)
vs. Saudi Arabia	August 28, 2026
vs. Qatar	August 31, 2026

Oketani’s staff used the Korea series to manage minutes for returning NBA players while testing combinations with B.League core pieces. The Japan–Korea rivalry also previews a rematch at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September, where both nations share a group with Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

---

Discussion

1. Can Kawamura anchor Japan’s offense when Hachimura sits, or do both need to be on the floor for Window 4?

Ten first-half points and three assists without Hachimura is a strong signal — but qualifying opponents will game-plan differently. How much does Japan’s ceiling depend on the Clippers duo sharing the court?

2. Was resting Hachimura in Game 2 the right call before Saudi Arabia and Qatar?

Load management protects Japan’s biggest star two weeks before qualifying, yet it also meant fans and coaches could not see how the shortened roster handles a full game without him.

Share where you think Kawamura stands in Oketani’s rotation — and whether Akatsuki Japan looked ready for the final qualifying window even without Hachimura on the floor.

---